Cynopterus sphinx
Silhouette: Baheerathan Murugavel · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The greater short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx), or short-nosed Indian fruit bat, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae found in South and Southeast Asia. These bats have a relatively long snout. Their upper parts are brown to grey-brown with paler under parts. The fur is very fine and silky. The ears and wing bones of C. sphinx are edged in white. Lower cheek teeth rounded without accessory cusps. The wingspan of the adult is about 48 cm (19 in). Juveniles are lighter than adults. Average forearm length is 70.2 mm (2.76 in), with a range of 64–79 mm (2.5–3.1 in).
The greater short-nosed fruit bat is found from Pakistan to Vietnam. It is common in tropical forests and areas where fruit crops are cultivated. They can also be found in grasslands and mangrove forests. They typically nest high in palm trees. The bats chew the fronds of the palms to construct fairly simple tents. These bats are also known to construct tents by closely interweaving the leaves and twigs of creeping vines which cover buildings, but such nests are constructed only when palms are not available.
The greater short-nosed fruit bat is... Wikipedia →
Recording0:16
Hong Kong SAR China · 2023
© Lawrence Hylton · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 2 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany |
No species of the same family or order lives in Guangzhou, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat sighting in Guangzhou on a given day, based on 64 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 9 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and October–January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat in Guangzhou on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat sightings, Guangzhou ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Tuen Mun (China, about 20%) and Hong Kong (China, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Guangzhou (64 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
