Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Pteropodidae
Genus:	Acerodon
Species:	A. jubatus
Binomial name
Acerodon jubatus (Eschscholtz, 1831)

The Giant golden-crowned flying-fox (Acerodon jubatus), also known as the Golden-capped fruit bat, is a rare fruit bat and considered the largest known bat in the world. The species is endangered and is currently facing the possibility of extinction due to poachers and food hunters. They can be found only in the Philippines, where they live in the caves and rainforests of Maitum, Sarangani.

Contents 1 Description 2 Habitat 3 Behavior 3.1 Diet 3.2 Reproduction 3.3 Colonies 4 Conservation 5 References

[edit] Description

The flying foxes are so named because of their facial likeness to a fox. The Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox is a prime example for this name. They have a long pointed snout compared to the Microchiroptera, and small ears that form an unbroken ring, giving them the appearance of a fox with wings. The Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox gets its species name from the golden fur around the head, in sharp contrast to the black body. Like all other fruit bats, they have no tail. They are considered the largest of all bats, with a wingspan average of 1.5 meters (5 feet) and weighing up to 1.2 kg (2.6 lb), though the Large Flying Fox has a greater wingspan.

[edit] Habitat

The Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox is confined to the rainforests of the Phillipines. They have been found in many different areas of rainforest from sea-level to montane forests.

[edit] Behavior

The Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox is primarily nocturnal, and can travel at least 40 km (25 miles) in one night searching for food.

[edit] Diet

They eat primarily figs, though will take other fruit if figs are unavailable. They have been reported to eat cultivated fruit, but this is relatively rare. They are very important to the rainforests of the Phillipines. Known as "The Silent Planter", they often drop seeds from flying or release them in their droppings. This helps forest regrow, and without the Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox, the Rainforest would likely die out without a distributor for seeds.

[edit] Reproduction

Little is known about their reproduction. They appear to have two breeding seasons, but females only become pregnant during one of them. They typically give birth to only one. Females reach sexual maturity at two years.

[edit] Colonies

When fruit bats were very common in the Phillipines, the Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox and the Large Flying fox would make colonies together, reportedly numbering over 150,000 individuals. It is this roosting behavior that made them so easy to hunt.

[edit] Conservation

The Giant Golden Crowned Flying fox is under threat from deforestation and have completely disappeared from many smaller islands and some larger islands, such as Cebu, due to deforestation. They are also commercially hunted for meat in some areas.The local government of Maitum, Sarangani in the Philippines has organized a campaign to save this rare species from extinction.

[edit] References

1. ^ Mildenstein, T., Cariño,A., Paul, S., Heaney, L., Alviola, P., Duya, A., Stier, S., Pedregosa, S., Lorica, R., Ingle, N., Balete, D., Garcia, J.J., Gonzalez, J.C., Ong, P., Rosell-Ambal, G. & Tabaranza, B. (2008). Acerodon jubatus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 13 January 2009.