Fulvus roundleaf bats are insectivorous and eat such prey as beetles, cockroaches, winged termites, ants of the order Hymenoptera, and insects of the order Diptera. They hunt at night and locate their prey through echolocation.
Animal Foods: insects
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )
Common predators of most Asian bats are owls (Strigiformes), hawks (Falconiformes), snakes (Serpentes), weasels (Mustela), and foxes (Vulpes), though bats comprise only a small part of their diet. Bats are relatively good at avoiding terrestrial predators because they fly, but if caught on the ground they become quite vulnerable. Humans in Asia hunt Hipposideros fulvus and other bats for food and medicinal purposes.
Known Predators:
Hipposideros fulvus is a small bat weighing between eight and ten grams. The ears are between 20 and 23 millimeters long, rounded, and larger than those of the bat’s close relatives. The average body length is 43 millimeters and tail length is between 25 and 29 millimeters. Average wingspan for the species is 130 millimeters. There appears to be no sexual dimorphism in this species. Fulvus roundleaf bats have square noseleaves. The dorsal fur can be reddish brown, dull yellow, dull brown, light gray or golden orange and the ventral fur ranges from creamy white to pale gray. Members of H. f. pallidus tend to be on the paler end of the spectrum, and the members of H. f. fulvus are darker in color.
Range mass: 8 to 10 g.
Average length: 43 mm.
Average wingspan: 130 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Little is known about the expected lifespan of Hipposideros fulvus. The oldest wild individual captured was a twelve-year-old female. Fulvus roundleaf bats do not survive in captivity for very long.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 12 (high) years.
The habitat preferences of fulvus roundleaf bats are relatively broad, including dry plains, thorn scrub, and thick tropical forests. Hipposideros fulvus is found at a wide range of elevations. These bats use porcupine and python burrows, caves, or abandoned buildings for their diurnal roosts. Optimal roosting sites are cool and damp, usually with flowing water nearby.
Range elevation: 0 to 2600 m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; rainforest
Other Habitat Features: caves
The fulvus roundleaf bat, Hipposideros fulvus, is found in much of southern Asia from Afghanistan east to Thailand, on the islands of Taiwan and Sri Lanka, and throughout most of India. The subspecies H. fulvus pallidus is found in the more northern parts of the range in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northern India, while the subspecies H. fulvus fulvus is found in the more southeastern areas.
Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native )
Hipposideros fulvus acts as a predator on many types of insects. The guano of H. fulvus likely supplies important nutrients to the ecosystems in which it is found. This hasn’t been recorded, but it seems likely that fulvus roundleaf bats are hosts for parasitic insects such as fleas and ticks.
Hipposideros fulvus and other small Asian bats have been used historically by populations in India and Nepal for food and traditional medicine. The medicine is called “bat oil” and is used as eardrops, treatment for baldness, and to combat paralysis. As insectivores, fulvus roundleaf bats positively impact humans by reducing pest insect populations.
Positive Impacts: food ; source of medicine or drug ; controls pest population
Hipposideros fulvus and other bat species are often vectors for passing diseases to humans when they come into contact with one another. Viruses can be transmitted to humans through handling and consumption of bat flesh and contact with bat feces.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (causes disease in humans )
The IUCN lists Hipposideros fulvus as a species of Least Concern because it appears to have a wide distribution, a large and stable population size, and to occur in protected areas. The species was assessed in 2008. H. fulvus does face small-scale threats from habitat loss due to mining and cave sealing. CITES and the US Endangered Species Act do not list H. fulvus.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There is little documentation regarding the communication of Hipposideros fulvus. It has been recorded that individuals rarely make audible sounds. Fulvus roundleaf bats use echolocation to perceive their environment and to hunt for food at night.
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; echolocation ; chemical
Hipposideros fulvus is known by many common names including fulvus roundleaf bat, fulvus leaf-nosed bat, and bicolored leaf-nosed bat. It is often confused with Hipposideros pomona, but can be distinguished by its longer ears. Populations of H. fulvus have more female individuals than males, but it is unclear at this time why this unequal gender ratio occurs.
Fulvus roundleaf bats occur in colonies ranging from 10 to 100 individuals. Females make up slightly more than half of the group. Individuals roost without touching, with the exception of females with dependent offspring. It has not been reported if either sex transfers to a different colony before attaining sexual maturity. Hipposideros fulvus breeds every year in November, but it is not known how mate selection occurs.
Mating System: cooperative breeder
Mating occurs among Hipposideros fulvus every year in mid-November. The gestation period is 150 to 160 days and results in the birth of one young in late April to early May. Twins do occur, but only rarely. The offspring are born naked and with closed eyes at a mass of approximately 2 grams. Young are nursed for approximately three months, reach adult size between seven and eight months, and attain sexual maturity at 18 to 19 months. Fulvus roundleaf bats first breed in the second year after their birth, once they have reached sexual maturity.
Breeding interval: Fulvus roundleaf bats breed yearly.
Breeding season: Mating occurs in mid-November.
Range number of offspring: 1 (low) .
Range gestation period: 150 to 160 days.
Average weaning age: 3 months.
Average time to independence: 3 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 18 to 19 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 18 to 19 months.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Mother fulvus roundleaf bats carry their young continuously for the first 20 to 22 days after birth. While nursing, the young faces the same direction as the mother, but at other times the young clings with its head near its mother’s tail and latches on with its feet to her fur. After the young leave their mothers, all lactating females in the colony suckle the infants regardless of relatedness. This continues until lactation ceases in late July. Juveniles reach mobile independence after 20 to 22 days, and feeding independence by three months of age. Male fulvus roundleaf bats have not been seen to provide any care to the young.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
The fulvus roundleaf bat or fulvus leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros fulvus) is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[1]
The fulvus roundleaf bat was described as a new species in 1838 by British zoologist John Edward Gray. The holotype had been collected by Walter Elliot in the Madras, India (now Chennai). Gray stated that its fur was "reddish fulvous", giving it the species name "fulvus".[2]
Individuals have a forearm length of 38–44 mm (1.5–1.7 in) and weigh 8–9 g (0.28–0.32 oz). It has large ears that are rounded at the tips. Its fur color is variable; individuals have been documented with pale yellow, golden orange, and pale gray fur.[3]
It is native to Central and South Asia, and has been documented in the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is found at a range of elevations from 0–2,600 m (0–8,530 ft) above sea level.[1]
As of 2019, it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN. It meets the criteria for this classification because it has a wide—if patchy—geographic range, and it is not likely to be experiencing rapid population decline. It has a low population density, however, and is threatened by disturbance of its roosts.[1]
The fulvus roundleaf bat or fulvus leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros fulvus) is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
