Bulmer's fruit bat

Etymology

The genus name (Aproteles) – "incomplete at the front" (Greek), is a reference to the lack of lower incisors; the species name (bulmerae) was assigned for Susan Bulmer, the archaeologist who excavated the site from which the original fossils were recovered.

Distribution and habitat

Bulmer's fruit bat is a cave-dweller that occurs in mid-montane forests. It has been found living in a cave at 2300 m elevation. Its altitudinal range is at least 1800 – 2400 m.

Bulmer's fruit bat was first described from 12,000-year-old fossils found in the central highlands in Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea in 1960. It may have become extinct there about 9000 years ago. In 1975, it was discovered in the Hindenburg Wall area of Western Province, Papua New Guinea, in a cave known as Luplupwintem. At that time, local inhabitants described the bat as being abundant, perhaps numbering thousands of bats. However, two years later, the colony had been decimated, apparently by hunters who entered the cave with shotguns and store-bought ropes. During the 1980s, no bats were seen and it was feared that the species may have become extinct. However, by 1993 a colony of about 160 bats was known to be living in the same cave.

The species existed in the Telefomin region of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, as recently as 1984. The only other populations reported from recent times are from the vicinity of Herowana in Eastern Highlands Province and from the vicinity of Crater Mountain in Chimbu Province, both in Papua New Guinea

Ecology

Bulmer's fruit bat lives in cave-dwelling colonies. It is not sexually active by the beginning of its second year and probably does not breed until its third year. Births occur in April. A newborn Bulmer's fruit bat is carried for the first few weeks of its life by its mother while she forages.

Based on dental structures and its close relationship to other fruit-eating bats, Bulmer's fruit bat is probably an obligate frugivore. Its diet includes figs.

Conservation

Hunting and human disturbance are the probable causes of its recent decline. In 2013, Bat Conservation International listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation. The species is currently classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

References

References

1. Aplin, K.. (2021). "''Aproteles bulmerae''".
2. . (October 2013). ["A Five-Year Plan for Global Bat Conservation"](http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/BCI%20Strategic%20Plan%202013.pdf). *Bat Conservation International*.
3. Flannery, Tim F. (1995). "Mammals of New Guinea.".
4. (1998). "The Global 200: a representation approach to conserving the Earth's most biologically valuable ecoregions". Conservation Biology.
5. Lost & Found. "Lost & Found - Once upon a time, there was an adventurer".
6. Bonaccorso, F. (1998). "Bats of Papua New Guinea". Conservation International Tropical Field Guide Series.
7. (1999). "Walker's Mammals of the World". JHU Press.
8. . (August 2014). ["Annual Report 2013-2014"](http://www.batcon.org/images/stories/annualreports/AnnualReport2014.pdf). *Bat Conservation International*.