Bulmer's Fruit Bat vs Coachwhip ray

Aproteles bulmerae compared with Urogymnus granulatus

Key Differences

• Bulmer's Fruit Bat is Critically Endangered while Coachwhip ray is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bulmer's Fruit Bat	Coachwhip ray
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Elasmobranchii
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Myliobatiformes (Myliobatiformes)
Family	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)	Dasyatidae
Genus	Aproteles	Urogymnus
Species	Aproteles bulmerae	Urogymnus granulatus

Evolutionary Relationship

Bulmer's Fruit Bat and Coachwhip ray share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Bulmer's Fruit Bat

CR — Critically Endangered

Coachwhip ray

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bulmer's Fruit Bat	Coachwhip ray
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bulmer's Fruit Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Coachwhip ray

Bulmer's Fruit Bat

The Bulmer's Fruit Bat (Aproteles bulmerae) is a species in the genus Aproteles. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Coachwhip ray

The coachwhip ray, Urogymnus granulatus, is a large elasmobranch in the family Urogymidae found across the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from the Red Sea and East Africa through South and Southeast Asia to northern Australia and the western Pacific islands. It inhabits shallow coastal waters including coral reef flats, sandy lagoons, seagrass beds, and estuarine habitats, where it forages for benthic invertebrates and small fishes buried in the substrate. The coachwhip ray is characterized by an oval disc and a long, whip-like tail with one or more venomous spines at its base, giving the species its common name. The disc reaches up to 1.4 meters in width, making it one of the larger members of its family. Urogymnus granulatus is ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young after internal development, and has low reproductive rates that make populations slow to recover from exploitation. The species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to significant declines caused by intensive coastal fisheries across its range, particularly in South and Southeast Asia where it is commonly caught as bycatch or targeted for its valuable meat, skin, and gill plates in local markets. Habitat degradation from coastal development and coral reef decline compounds the threat to wild populations.