Читать книгу Bats of Southern and Central Africa - Ara Monadjem - Страница 26

Most Pteropodidae, as well as Taphozous mauritianus, Neoromicia nana, Glauconycteris variegata and Myotis welwitschii, hang up or cling onto surfaces in trees or shrubs. Pteropodidae, G. variegata and M. welwitschii hang by their hind claws from the undersurface of leaves or branches, the last two hanging in a disguised manner among clumps of leaves. Taphozous mauritianus roosts face-down, anchored by its hind claws, but with its belly, thumb claws and hind claws in contact with the surface of a tree or wall. Neoromicia nana clings with its ventral surface in contact with the smooth surface of unfurling banana leaves (Taylor 2000). Crypsis of the pelage is a key adaptation for many foliage-roosting bats, such as Taphozous mauritianus and many species of Glauconycteris, Kerivoula and Myotis. Many of the fruit bats also rely on disruptive colouration, exemplified in the ear spots of Epomophorus species (Fenton 1992, Fenton and Simmons 2015).