Madagascar rousette
The Madagascan rousette (Rousettus madagascariensis ) or Madagascar rousette, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
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Island endemicIsland endemic animals are found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island. Animals or organisms that are indigenous to a place ar...
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PollinatorA pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilizat...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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PolygamyPolygamy is the practice of breeding with multiple partners. When a male breeds with more than one female at the same time – it is called polygyny....
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ColonialColonial animals live in large aggregations composed of two or more conspecific individuals in close association with or connected to, one another....
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starts withThe Madagascan rousette is a small fruit bat, the smallest of the three fruit bats endemic to Madagascar. The upper part of their bodies have a greyish fur while the underparts have a paler grey tinge. Like many other fruit bats, the Madagascan rousette have very dog-like faces with long, pointed snouts, large, wide eyes and largely separated ears. Like some other members of the genus Rousettus, these bats reside within cave roosts, suggesting the use of echolocation. These bats are a part of a larger group of fruit bats within Rousettus which consists of 10 different species. The Madagascan rousette primarily resides on western Indian Ocean islands.
The habitat of the Madagascan rousette is generally found to be associated with forests. They will roost well beyond the time of twilight. Many roosts have been found within caves however some bats have been found without a known cave roost, suggesting that the Madagascan rousette may sometimes roost within tree holes or other alternatives. They are observed to be highly mobile within a forest environment. This suggests that these bats could serve a role as pollinators and disperse seeds. The details of their diets are unknown but they have been observed to feed on introduced fruit as well as the fruits and nectar of endemic trees. They have also been found to primarily forage within eucalyptus forests.
Though deforestation does occur in the habitat of these rousette, it is not well understood how this affects the species. A number of roosting colonies have been observed some distance from forests. More research is needed to clarify the extent to which deforestation affects them. However, efforts to preserve these rousette have been made by local laws protecting them and their roosts within nature reserves.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...