Great Fruit-eating Bat
The great fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus) is a bat species found from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina, as well as in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. == Description == They weigh 10.5 grams (0.37 oz) at birth and grow to 65 grams (2.3 oz) as adults. The heart of A. lituratus contains unique membranous structures not seen in any other mammal. The functions of these differences are still being studied, but may possibly aid in keeping the heart in the correct position while upside down, flight assistance, and energy reservation. In Panama, it has been found that some Artibeus lituratus fly with 18-23g fruits of Dipteryx panamensis (Fabaceae), which is a third of the animal's body weight, up to hundreds of meters from the parent tree. == Threats == Reproductive damage within A. lituratus has been linked with the insecticide deltamethrin. == Gallery ==
Natural Farallones de Cali National Park
Buenaventura, Colombia
+12 birds+26 mammals
Where the western cordillera plunges toward the Pacific, a landscape of dramatic escarpments and misty cloud forest unfolds across nearly […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSaint-Hilaire/Lange National Park
Brazil
+13 birds+11 mammals
Where Atlantic Forest transitions into open cerrado grassland, granite escarpments rise dramatically above the São Paulo state plateau, their weathered […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKIguaçu National Park
Brazil
+133 birds+29 mammals
Where the Paraná Plateau drops away in a thunderous cascade, one of Earth’s most spectacular waterfall systems tears through subtropical […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSão Joaquim National Park
Brazil
+50 birds+18 mammals
Where granite peaks rise abruptly from the Atlantic Forest’s verdant embrace, a mosaic of ecosystems unfolds across nearly 1,000 square […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBrasília National Park
Plano Piloto, Brazil
+122 birds+30 mammals
Where granite escarpments rise above the cerrado grasslands of central Brazil, a vast sanctuary unfolds across 1,077 square kilometres of […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCabo Orange National Park
Brazil
+29 birds+13 mammals
Where the Amazon’s momentum finally surrenders to the Atlantic, mangrove forests sprawl across tidal flats that stretch 15,115 square kilometers […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKAnavilhanas National Park
Brazil
+132 birds+30 mammals
Where the Rio Negro braids into a labyrinth of islands and waterways, one of the Amazon’s most pristine archipelagos unfolds […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKDzibilchantún National Park
Barcelona, Mexico
+97 birds+5 mammals
Cenotes puncture the limestone plateau of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula like sapphire eyes, and this compact 8-square-kilometre park shelters some of […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKArrecifes de Cozumel National Park
San Miguel de Cozumel, Mexico
+134 birds+21 mammals
Crystalline waters lap against the world’s second-longest coral barrier reef, where vibrant walls of living limestone plunge into the abyss. […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSierra de Tamaulipas
El Porvenir, Mexico
+91 birds+20 mammals
Where limestone peaks thrust skyward through dense subtropical forest, Mexico’s northeastern frontier reveals one of the continent’s most biodiverse mountain […]
VIEW NATURE RESERVEParque Nacional Benito Juárez
San Andrés Huayápam, Mexico
+129 birds+30 mammals
Towering pine and fir forests blanket the high plateaus of Oaxaca’s Sierra Madre Oriental, where elevation exceeds 3,600 meters and […]
VIEW NATIONAL PARKParque Nacional Grutas de Cacahuamilpa
Pilcaya, Mexico
+141 birds+19 mammals
Where limestone cliffs plunge into shadowed canyons, the Río Río Grande carves its ancient passage through one of Mexico’s most […]
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