Zenker's fruit bat
Zenker's fruit bat or Tear-drop bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and swamps.
Description
This very small fruit bat is distinguished by having pale-coloured lips and three white patches on the head, one on the forehead and one behind each eye. The fur is soft, dense and fluffy; the dorsal pelage is medium-brown to rusty brown, the flanks are medium to greyish-brown and the chest and belly are whitish to pale grey, with scantier, stiffer hairs. The wing membranes are brown or greenish-brown and there is no discernable tail.Distribution and habitat
This fruit bat is endemic to tropical West and Central Africa. Its range includes Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, its range is not continuous throughout these countries, as it is only known from certain widely separated locations, especially in the Congo Basin. In general, it is known from all the locations where Pohle's fruit bat occurs, and some additional ones.Suitable habitat for this bat includes both primary and secondary lowland rainforest, mangrove forests, forest fringes, clearings and gardens. It sometimes occurs in forest-savanna mosaic zones but avoids large clear-felled areas. It is mostly found at altitudes below but also occurs up to on the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. In the Congo Basin, it is often found in degraded secondary growth forest where the understorey is dominated by Haumania liebrechtsiana.