It has broad dark grey wings and a narrow hairless interfemoral membrane with a short calcar.

[2] The distinctive features of the Jamaican fruit bat (which however are shared by some of its relatives) include the absence of an external tail and a minimal, U-shaped interfemoral membrane.

[10] Fruit bats roost in caves, hollow trees, dense foliage, buildings and leaf tents.

[1] Further populations in Ecuador, Peru and southwestern Colombia west of the Andes were attributed to a new species, Artibeus aequatorialis.

[12] Overall, the fruit bat consumes a diverse amount of plants but locally only eats certain types.

[2] A Jamaican fruit-eating bat plucks its food and carries it away with its mouth before eating it in its roosts.

[2] They mainly feed on Ficus figs and also on other fruits like avocados, mangoes, guava, papaya and bananas.

In the dry season, their diet can consist of leaves of plants whose foliage has large amounts of protein, nectar, pollen, flower pieces and a few insects.

Predators of fruit bats include owls, snakes, large opossums, and coati.

[2] When in their roosts, the Jamaican fruit bat has a reproductive system known as "resource defensive polygyny".

[22] When bats going on foraging trips, it is the dominant males that are the first to leave to the roosting sites and the last to return.

[23] At dusk, males spend much time flying near the tree roosts displacing any intruders.

[25] When captured, a Jamaican fruit bat will warn conspecifics with a distress call made of a long series of pulses typically lasting 15 kHz.

Mating is highest at the end of the wet season and births take place in the dry months.

Pups born in a harem may sometimes be sired by satellite or subordinate males depending on the size of the group.