The new US quarter features...fruit bats?!
Coins depicting a Samoan flying fox hanging upside down with her pup will be released along with four other new designs in February.
Story at a glance
- A new quarter design launching next month features bats hanging upside down.
- The quarter is part of the U.S. Mint’s America the Beautiful program which celebrates National Parks and other sites.
- The new design commemorates the National Park of American Samoa and features the threatened Samoan flying fox — depicted dangling upside down with her pup clutched between her wings.
Starting next month, George Washington will share a new quarter with some unexpected company — bats. Samoan flying foxes, a kind of fruit bat, will appear on one of the five new quarter designs released as part of the U.S. Mint’s America the Beautiful quarters program on Feb. 3.
Beginning in 2010, the program has celebrated National Parks and other sites. The new batty quarter singles out the National Park of American Samoa, the only U.S. park where the Samoan flying fox is found.
The design shows a Samoan flying fox dangling upside down in a tree, cradling her pup between her wings. The posture is meant to highlight the exceptional devotion of this species to their offspring. The Samoan flying fox is only found in Samoa and Fiji and is crucial to the ecosystems of those islands. Their taste for fruit, nectar and pollen means they are responsible for pollinating flowers and distributing the seeds contained in the fruit of many plant species.
Like other fruit bats and flying foxes, the Samoan flying fox is different from the various nocturnal, cave dwelling species found in the continental U.S. They’re large, with wingspans up to three feet, roost mainly in trees and are active during the day and at night.
But these fruit bats are threatened by habitat loss and hunting, and the coin’s designer Richard Masters hopes the new quarter will raise awareness of their plight.
