Blanford's fruit bat
| Blanford's fruit bat | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Pteropodidae |
| Genus: | Sphaerias Miller, 1906 |
| Species: | S. blanfordi
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| Binomial name | |
| Sphaerias blanfordi (Thomas, 1891)
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| Blanford's fruit bat range | |
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Blanford's fruit bat (Sphaerias blanfordi) is a mountain species of megabat. It is found in several countries in South and Southeast Asia.
Taxonomy
Blanford's fruit bat was described as a new species in 1891 by English zoologist Oldfield Thomas, who put it in the genus Cynopterus (C. blanfordi).[2] The eponym for its specific epithet "blanfordi" is English naturalist William Thomas Blanford.[3]
In 1906, American zoologist
incisors, whose shape he called "peculiar".[4]
Range and habitat
It occurs in several countries in South and Southeast Asia, including Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.[1] In 2010, it was documented in Laos for the first time.[5] It has been documented at a range of elevations from 308–2,710 m (1,010–8,891 ft) above sea level.[1]
Conservation
As of 2021, it is listed as a
IUCN. It meets the criteria for this designation due to its large geographic range and presumably large population size. Additionally, it is unlikely to be experiencing rapid population decline.[1] The IUCN listed no major threats to the species,[1] but the first record of it in Laos was an individual sold as bushmeat at a market.[5]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Thomas, O. (1891). "Diagnoses of three new Mammals collected by Signor L. Fea in the Carin Hills, Burma". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova. 30: 884.
- ISBN 978-0-429-88089-6. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
- ^ Miller, G.S. (1906). "Twelve new genera of bats". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 19: 83–85.
- ^ a b Douangboubpha, B.; Sanamxay, D.; Xayaphet, V.; Bumrungsri, S.; Bates, P. J. (2012). "Short note: First record of Sphaerias blanfordi (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) from Lao PDR". Tropical Natural History. 12 (1): 117–122.