Philippine naked-backed fruit bat
Definition
The Philippine naked-backed fruit bat (Dobsonia chapmani) is a large fruit bat endemic to the islands of Negros and Cebu, named for the wings that attach along the middle of its back, leaving the fur bare. Long feared extinct after its forests were destroyed, it was rediscovered in small numbers in 2000.
Identities (Wikipedia/Wikidata/DBpedia)
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_naked-backed_fruit_bat
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q301434
- DBpedia: https://dbpedia.org/page/Philippine_naked-backed_fruit_bat
Also Known As
Dobsonia chapmani (scientific name); Negros naked-backed fruit bat.
Examples and Analogies
The species is a Philippine “Lazarus species,” lost to science for decades and refound like the Cebu flowerpecker, its story illustrating how tiny remnant populations can survive in corners of cleared landscapes long after being written off.
Usage Scenarios
The bat serves as a flagship for protecting limestone caves and remnant forests on Negros and Cebu, appears in conservation education about cave ecosystems, and is monitored through bat surveys by university and DENR teams.
Strategies
Conservation focuses on locating and guarding roost caves, reducing hunting and guano mining disturbance, and reforesting corridors between surviving forest patches on both islands.
Security and Safety Measures
Researchers avoid disturbing maternity colonies and use protective field protocols around bats, which like all wildlife should not be handled by the public, both for the animals’ welfare and disease prudence.
Historical Context
Described in the first half of the 20th century from Negros specimens, the bat vanished from records as lowland forests fell, was widely considered extinct by the late 1900s, and startled conservationists when a small colony was confirmed on Negros in 2000, with signs on Cebu following.
Challenges and Controversies
Listed as critically endangered, the species survives in unknown, likely tiny numbers; limestone quarrying of roost caves, hunting and continued habitat loss keep its extinction risk acute despite rediscovery.
Related Topic
Philippine tarsier — another celebrated and threatened Visayas-Mindanao mammal whose survival depends on the same quiet protection of the islands’ last forests.