The Admiralty flying fox (''Pteropus admiralitatum'') is a species of

fruit bat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—flying foxes. They are the only member of the sup ...

in the family Pteropodidae, the megabats. It is found in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described by British zoologist

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

in 1894, based on specimens that were initially collected by the "Challenger" Expedition in 1875. Its species name ''admiralitum'' is a

Neo-Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy ...

rendering of "admiralty", which is in reference to the Admiralty Islands where this species was first documented. The Admiralty flying fox is possibly a species complex of three species, with one species occupying the Admiralty Islands and the Solomon Islands from Buka Island to Malaita Island. A second species is thought to occupy Western Province,

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

, and Malaita Island. The third species is thought to occupy

Mussau Island Mussau Island is the largest island of St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea, at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The island is a noted Biodiversity hotspot with pristine primeval Primeval may refer to: * ...

and

Emirau Island Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what o ...

Description

It is similar in appearance to the

small flying fox The small flying fox, island flying fox or variable flying fox (''Pteropus hypomelanus'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the ...

, though it is smaller. It is further distinguished by its much smaller ears and the fact that its chest and abdomen are the same color. The top of its head is pale gray, while the back of its neck is a reddish-brown. Its dorsal fur is brown, with some white hairs interspersed. The head and body length is approximately ; its forearm length is ; its ear length is .

Range and habitat

It is found in several countries in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

, including

and

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

—its lowest conservation priority. While it is likely threatened to some extent by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

and exploitation for

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...

, these are not considered major problems. Overall, it is not of concern because it has a large geographic range, presumably large population size, and it is not thought to be in rapid decline.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q576022 Pteropus Bats of Oceania Mammals of Papua New Guinea Mammals of the Solomon Islands Mammals described in 1894 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bats of New Guinea