Abstract
Respiratory characteristics and selected hematological parameters of whole blood from the common short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, were studied. Oxygen-hemoglobin equilibrium values were determined with a mixing technique at 37 °C and carbon dioxide tensions of 10, 36 and 71 torr. The blood P 50, when whole blood pH = 7.40, is 37.6 torr. The Bohr factor (Δ4 1og P o 2 ΔpH) is −0.49 and the calculated buffer value, (Δ [HCO 3]Δ pH), is 37.6 si. Hematological parameters of the bat blood are within the range of values reported for nonflying mammals, but somewhat lower than comparable values for a laboratory mouse, with roughly the same body weight as the bat. Among organ weights, the heart weight of the bat is 60 % greater than expected for a nonflying mammal and comparable to the heart weight of a bird of similar body size. Possible relationships between the respiratory characteristics of blood in the bat and flight are discussed.
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