NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sao Tomé collared fruit bat
Myonycteris brachycephala (Bocage, 1889)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The São Tomé collared fruit bat (Myonycteris brachycephala) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist and montane forest. It is threatened by habitat destruction. This bat is unique in that it is the only known mammal where the whole population has an asymmetrical dental formula.
Wikipedia contributors, São Tomé collared fruit bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:19:49.782204+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myonycteris brachycephala (Bocage, 1889)
- Name authority
- (Bocage, 1889)
- Common name
- Sao Tomé collared fruit bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Pteropodidae
- Genus
- Myonycteris
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
- suborderYinpterochiroptera Springer, Teeling, Madsen, Stanhope & Jong, 2001
- familyPteropodidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyRousettinae Andersen, 1912
- tribeMyonycterini Lawrence & Novick, 1963
- genusMyonycteris Matschie, 1899
- speciesMyonycteris brachycephala (Bocage, 1889)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Myonycteris. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bergmans's Collared Fruit BatMyonycteris relicta Bergmans, 1980 | PteropodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little Collared Fruit BatMyonycteris torquata (Dobson, 1878) | PteropodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cynonycteris brachycephala Bocage, 1889 Bocage, 1889 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=631590 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:454ZF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.