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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 105 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 11 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.
November
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat in Hong Kong on a given day, against about 10% in February–October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Hong Kong's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 280 mm in June.
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.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat sightings, Hong Kong ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Tuen Mun (China, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Hong Kong (105 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.
