Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat

Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat

Cynopterus brachyotis

Silhouette: Baheerathan Murugavel · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Johor Bahru

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

7 Verified sightings at Johor Bahru
April Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat

The lesser short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis) is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between 21 and 32 grams (0.74 and 1.13 oz), and measures 70 to 127 millimetres (2.8 to 5.0 in). It occurs in many types of habitat, but most frequently in disturbed forest, including lower montane forest and tropical lowland rain forest, plus gardens, mangroves, and vegetation on beaches.

Lesser short-nosed fruit bats are generally brown to yellowish brown with a brighter collar. Adult males have dark orange collars whereas adult females have yellowish collars. An indistinct collar is observed in some immature bats. The edges of the ears and the wing bones are usually white. Individuals have two pairs of lower incisors, a fox-like face and large dark eyes. The head and body length is 7–8 cm (2.8–3.1 in), the forearm length is 6–7 cm (2.4–2.8 in), tail length is 0.8–1.0 cm (0.31–0.39 in), and ear length is 1.4–1.6 cm (0.55–0.63 in).

There are nine subspecies of lesser short-nosed fruit bat. Corbet and Hill listed 19 alternate names of C. brachyotis, which include: Pachysoma brachyotis... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording

Singapore · 2026

© Joan Theng · Xeno · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Johor Bahru 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~20%
2 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
~10%
3 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 London Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity

Closest Relatives at Johor Bahru

No species of the same family or order lives in Johor Bahru, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat in Johor Bahru?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat sighting in Johor Bahru on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat in Johor Bahru?

April

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat in Johor Bahru on a given day, against under 5% in February and May–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Johor Bahru the best place to see a Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat?

Yes

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat sightings, Johor Bahru has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Singapore (Singapore, about 10%) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, about 10%).

Where does the Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Johor Bahru (7 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.

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