Hr. Bhat, OBSERVATIONS ON THE FOOD AND FEEDING-BEHAVIOR OF CYNOPTERUS SPHINX VAHL (CHIROPTERA, PTEROPODIDAE) AT PUNE, INDIA, Mammalia, 58(3), 1994, pp. 363-370
Cynopterus sphinx is an ubiquitous frugivorous bat widely distributed
in India and South-east Asia. The species roosts individually or in gr
oups of two to several individuals in the overhanging, cryptic and pro
tective spaces on trees and under man-made structures such as roofs an
d ceilings. The species forages upon fruits, flowers and leaves of a n
umber of wild and a few orchard species of trees in varying proportion
s, The seasonal variation in its diet is related to both food preferen
ce acid availability which are determined by annual cycles of flowerin
g and fruiting in the study area. C. sphinx generally plucks the fruit
s and carries them away from the original tree to feeding perches wher
e it chews the soft parts, swallows the juice and drops seeds and chew
ed fibres, thus dispersing seeds. Damage caused to orchard fruits by t
his species is incidental and often marginal, particularly where there
are large numbers of wild food species available, In addition C. sphi
nx plays some role in the pollination of certain plant species.