Bats of Southern and Central Africa. Ara Monadjem

and (e) lateral mandible view of male (P 3079, Makerere University, Kampala), and (d) lateral view of female specimen (unnumbered, Makerere University, Kampala).

      Foraging ecology: Hypsignathus monstrosus has broad wings with high wing loading (36.3 N .m^-2) and low aspect ratio (6. 7) (Norberg and Rayner 1987). There is no information on the diet of this species for southern Africa, but elsewhere it feeds on the following plants: Mangifera indica, Annona spp., Ceiba spp., Musanga cecropioides, Anthocleista spp., Chlorophora spp., Ficus lyrata, F. ovata, F. scott-elliotii, Musa spp., Psidium guajava, Adenia cissampeloides, and Solanum spp. (Fujita and Tuttle 1991). Soft fruit is plucked while hovering and taken to a nearby perch where the juice is squeezed out and the rest discarded (Rosevear 1965, Kingdon 1974).

      Reproduction: No reproductive information is available for southern Africa. In East Africa, males form leks in which several individuals will call within the same tree (Bradbury 1977). One, or rarely two, young may be born throughout the year (Kingdon 1974).

      Figure 62. Hypsignathus monstrosus: (a) roosting female showing dark line along midline of muzzle, and (b) close-up of male showing the enormous muzzle (Liberia, © A. Monadjem).

      SYSTEMATIC NOTES

      1862.Hypsignathus monstrosus H. Allen, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 13(11): 157. ‘West Africa’ (= Gabon).

      The diploid number in H. monstrosus is 2n = 36 and FN = 68 (Haiduk et al. 1980).

      ^{1 Wolton et al. (1982) based on specimens from Liberia}

      ^{2 Rosevear (1965)}

      ^{3 Specimens measured by the authors; males were juveniles, while female was adult}