Abstract: Bite force is correlated to the morphological characters of the chewing system, and with the hardness of diets of animals, which is a critical index for foraging behaviour. Here, the bite forces of 12 bat species of three dietary groups, including frugivore, nectarivore, and insectivore, were investigated in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province during April 2012. The bite forces of bats were measured using aforce transducer when the bats were held in hand. The differences in bite forces were investigated among the three groups. We also analyzed the correlation between the bite force and body mass, forearm length, and head length of bats. Taking into account the body mass of bats, the bite force of frugivorous bats is significantly higher than that of nectarivorous bats, and the bite force of insectivorous bats is lower than that of nectarivorous bats. In addition, the bite forces of bats is positively correlated with their body mass, forearm length, and head length. Our study suggested that the bite force is mainly affected by the body mass of bats and is to a certain extent by their feeding habits. The elongation of the rostral part of the skull in nectarivorous may result in a decrease of bite force.

Key words: Bite force, Body mass, Fructivorous bats, Insectivorous bats, Nectarivorous bats

摘要： 咬合力与动物咀嚼系统的形态特征以及食物硬度有关，是评价动物取食行为的重要指标之一。本文于2012年4月在云南西双版纳对食果、食蜜和食虫3种食性的12种蝙蝠咬合力进行研究，使用咬合力探测仪测量蝙蝠手持状态下的咬合力，分析不同食性蝙蝠咬合力的差异，并与其体型（体重、前臂长、头长）进行相关分析。结果表明，3种食性蝙蝠的咬合力存在显著差异，食果蝙蝠咬合力最大，其次为食蜜蝙蝠，食虫蝙蝠咬合力最小；但是去除体重因素的影响之后，不同食性蝙蝠的咬合力则差异不显著。蝙蝠咬合力与体重、前臂长、头长均呈显著正相关。本文研究结果表明，体重是影响蝙蝠咬合力的主要因素，食性在一定程度上也对咬合力产生影响，食蜜蝙蝠吻部延长，头长上的特化导致其咬合力的减弱。

关键词: 咬合力, 体重, 食蜜蝙蝠, 食果蝙蝠, 食虫蝙蝠