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 Madagascar and other IslandsThe Biological Wealth of an Impoverished Country: Mammals: Page 3 Bats, which perform vital ecological roles in controlling insect populations and pollinating plants, tend to be ignored and often persecuted. Madagascar is no exception. Fifteen species of the 29 species of bats are endemic, living nowhere else (Garbutt 1999). The remaining 14 species live in mainland Africa as well. Fourteen species, or almost half the native bats, are listed by the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Yellow Bat (Scotophilus borbonicus), the most endangered, is listed as Critical (Hilton-Taylor 2000). This bat has been seen in both eastern and western regions but is extremely rare. A Vulnerable species, the Sucker-footed Bat (Myzopoda aurita), is the sole member of its family, Myzopodidae, and an extremely unusual bat. It is able to walk up tree leaves using sucker disks at the bend of its wings and on its feet to adhere to the slippery leaves (Jolly 1988). Only 2 inches long, with a forearm length of 1.9 inches, this tiny bat occurred in East Africa during the Pleistocene, but at present, it is found only in several locations in the eastern rainforest region of Madagascar (Garbutt 1999). It roosts in the Traveller’s Tree. It possesses a complex echolocation system and emits very long calls used to hunt insects (Garbutt 1999).
The largest bat, the endemic Madagascar Flying Fox (Pteropus rufus), has a 4-foot wing-span. An extremely colorful bat, its crown and nape are yellowish, and its upper chest and shoulders are rufous to golden brown (Garbutt 1999). It feeds on fruit juices by squeezing pieces of fruit pulp in its mouth, swallowing the juice and very soft fruit pulp, especially of figs, papayas, lychees and guavas (Garbutt 1999). Colonies of these bats roost in tall trees in primary forests or plantations (Garbutt 1999). One large roost at the Berenty reserve has decreased, apparently because of daytime disturbance by tourists who come to see them hanging upside down in the tamarind trees (Preston-Mafham 1991). Elsewhere on Madagascar, the species has declined precipitously from hunting for its meat; only on inaccessible offshore islands do these bats survive without persecution (Preston-Mafham 1991). Of Asian origin, this species is related to fruit bats in the Mascarene Islands. Through captive studies, flying foxes have been found to be extremely devoted to one another (see discussion of Rodrigues Flying Fox in Chapter One). | 
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