Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi) lives in tropical savanna across Sub-Saharan Africa. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit Bat
- Males sport erectable hair epaulettes that surround large scent glands, a trait found only in the male of this species and therefore a reliable sex marker. The epaulettes can be raised at will, making the male's head stand out during social interactions. Males also tend to be darker in colour than females, adding another visual cue. Both sexes have scent glands near the white ear patches, but only males can display them.
- Males possess specialised air sacs on the neck that can boost the volume of their courtship calls, a feature absent in females and thus a clear sexual difference. During the breeding season these sacs are inflated as the male flies to a new tree and emits frog-like calls while showing off his erected epaulettes. The louder calls help the male advertise his presence over longer distances, increasing his chances of attracting a mate.
- When breeding, a male departs his roost, travels to a neighbouring tree and performs a frog-like courtship call while his epaulettes are fully erected, a display that can last for as long as an hour before he moves on. This ritual usually takes place in the early night when most flight activity occurs, allowing the male to be heard over the surrounding forest. After the display he may relocate to another roost, continuing the search for receptive females.
- During the breeding season a male departs his roost and flies to a neighbouring tree where he displays his erected epaulettes while emitting frog-like courtship calls. He positions himself about 50 m from rival males and produces a rapid stream of 75-120 calls each minute. This vocal display can continue for up to an hour before the male moves on to another tree, maintaining the same spacing throughout.
- Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat does not enter torpor but becomes heterothermic, lowering its core temperature while roosting, a response that is especially strong in winter. In the colder months metabolic rates rise up to 30 % compared with summer, helping the bat offset the greater heat loss experienced at lower ambient temperatures.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeSub-Saharan Africa
HabitatTropical savanna
DietFruit and nectar
About the Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit Bat
As the golden light of dusk descends upon the savannah, the Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit Bat stirs, unfolding its dark, leathery wings like a velvet cloak, and takes to the evening air with a soft, whispery whoosh. With each effortless beat, it traverses the landscape, a masterful navigator of the twilight realm, seeking out the ripest fruits and nectar-rich blooms to sustain it through the night. As it flits and weaves through the trees, the bright, epaulette-like markings on its shoulders flash like tiny beacons, a striking advertisement of its presence in this vast, African expanse.
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