Cave nectar bat
Eonycteris spelaea (Dobson, 1871)
The cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea) is a species in the family Pteropodidae, order Chiroptera. Recorded adults weigh 52.4 g to 58.1 g and live up to 5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the cave nectar bat
- Weight
- 52.4 g – 58.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 40.7 cm – 44.3 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 152 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.7 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the cave nectar bat?
Where does the cave nectar bat live?
Not recorded
What is the cave nectar bat?
The cave nectar bat, dawn bat, common dawn bat, common nectar bat or lesser dawn bat (Eonycteris spelaea) is a species of megabat within the genus Eonycteris. The scientific name of the species was first published by Dobson in 1871.
From the Wikipedia article “Cave nectar bat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cave_nectar_bat&oldid=1365456841), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the cave nectar bat endangered?
The cave nectar bat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the cave nectar bat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderChiroptera
- familyPteropodidae
- genusEonycteris
- SpeciesEonycteris spelaea (Dobson, 1871)
Synonyms Eonycteris bernsteini, Macroplossus spelaeus
Other names and names in other languages (22)
- Common dawn batEnglish
- Common dawn batEnglish
- Common nectar batEnglish
- Common nectar batEnglish
- Dawn batEnglish
- Dawn batEnglish
- Lesser dawn batEnglish
- Lesser dawn batEnglish
- خفاش رحيق الكهفArabic
- kaloň jeskynníCzech
- Kleiner LangzungenflughundGerman
- aamuhekkoFinnish
- aamulepakkoFinnish
- Lalai kembangIndonesian
- Pipistrello mattutinoItalian
- ヨアケオオコウモリJapanese
- Cecadu GuaMalay
- Asiatisk BlomsterflygehundNorwegian Bokmål
- GrottenvleerhondDutch
- Jutrzenkowiec jaskiniowyPolish
- Пещерный крыланRussian
- ค้างคาวเล็บกุดThai
Relatives of the cave nectar bat
Other species in the same genus Eonycteris.
Greater nectar bat
Eonycteris major
Philippine dawn bat
Eonycteris robusta
CompareCave nectar bat vs Greater nectar batCave nectar bat vs Philippine dawn batCave nectar bat vs Eonycteris rosenbergi
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the cave nectar bat?
An adult cave nectar bat weighs 52.4 g – 58.1 g and has a wingspan of 40.7 cm – 44.3 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the cave nectar bat endangered?
The cave nectar bat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the cave nectar bat live?
The cave nectar bat has a recorded lifespan of 5 years.
How long is the cave nectar bat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 152 days.
What kind of animal is the cave nectar bat?
The cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea) belongs to the family Pteropodidae in the order Chiroptera.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-nectar-bat
“Cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-nectar-bat.
@misc{cave_nectar_bat_2026,
title = {Cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-nectar-bat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}