The montane monkey-faced bat or montane flying monkey (''Pteralopex pulchra'') is a

megabat 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 su ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to 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 ...

. It is listed as a critically endangered species. Due to its imperilled status, it is identified by the

Alliance for Zero Extinction Formed in 2000 and launched globally in 2005, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) comprises 100 non-governmental biodiversity conservation organizations working to prevent species extinctions by identifying and safeguarding sites where species ...

as a species in danger of imminent

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

. In 2013,

Bat Conservation International Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an international nongovernmental organization working to conserve bats and their habitats through conservation, education, and research efforts. BCI was founded in 1982 by bat biologist Merlin Tuttle, who ...

listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation. Only one individual has ever been found.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1991 by Australian mammalogist

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, Conservation biology, conservationist, Exploration, explorer, author, Science communication, science communicator, activist and p ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

was collected in May 1990 on

Mount Makarakomburu Mount Makarakomburu is the second highest point in the Solomon Islands, located approximately 20 miles south of Honiara, the capital, on the island of Guadalcanal, which is the largest island in the country. Elevation SRTM, more accurate IFS ...

, which is on

Guadalcanal Island 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 sec ...

. Its

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

"''pulchra''" is .

Description

It is the smallest member of its genus. The

weighed . The length of its head and body together is . Its forearm is long. Its ears are short and narrow, at long. Like other monkey-faced bats, it wings attach to the body near the spine rather than at the sides of its body, it has a defined

sagittal crest A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull (at the sagittal suture) of many mammalian and reptilian skulls, among others. The presence of this ridge of bone indicates that there are exceptiona ...

, and it has massive

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dog teeth, or (in the context of the upper jaw) fangs, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or vampire fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. They can appear more flattened howeve ...

. It has "striking" red eyes. Its flight membranes are black and white. Its head, face, and back is blackish in color. The fur on its ventral side is yellowish. The ears are black, while the fur at the base of each ear is white. Like other members of its genus, its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

is . Flannery called it the "most attractive" member of its genus due to its striking coloration.

Biology

As only one individual has been encountered, little is known about its biology. The holotype was a lactating female encountered in May. ''Pteralopex'' is a very old genus of bats, and the monkey-faced bats evolved in relative isolation to fill

ecological niche In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for ...

s occupied by large mammals in continental ecosystems.

Range and habitat

It is thought to occur in

montane forests Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

above above sea level. So far, it has only been documented in the high-elevation forests of the island of

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 ...

in the

Conservation

It is assessed as critically endangered (possibly

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

) 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 ...

. If it is not extinct, the IUCN estimates that its population contains no more than 50 adults in a single population. Extensive surveys in 2015 failed to locate additional individuals, making the holotype collected in 1990 the only documented individual. In 2010, the United States Federal Government received a petition from

WildEarth Guardians WildEarth Guardians is a non-profit grassroots environmental organization best known for its decade-long legal action against the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which culminated in 2011 with the Fish and Wildlife Service agreeing to move forward ...

to list the montane monkey-faced bat, as well as 14 other species of bat, under the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

. It is still under review for consideration under the Endangered Species Act. Scientist Diana Fisher coauthored a paper on the probability of rediscovering mammal species that have not been documented in several years, including the montane monkey-faced bat. Later, in an interview, she noted that several species of mammal feared extinct had a decent chance of rediscovery, specifically mentioning the montane-monkey faced bat and

Alcorn's pocket gopher Alcorn's pocket gopher (''Pappogeomys bulleri alcorni'') is a subspecies of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic ...

. In particular, Fisher and coauthor Blomberg found that time missing was an important factor in mammal rediscovery, with species that haven't been missing as long more likely to be rediscovered. Mammals with larger ranges are also more likely to be rediscovered after "extinction," as well as mammals thought to have gone extinct due to habitat loss as opposed to overhunting. In 2015, the nonprofit organization

awarded a Grassroots Grant to Australian researchers to confirm where surviving populations exist. However, the holotype is still the only known example of this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q767430 Pteralopex Bats of Oceania Endemic fauna of the Solomon Islands Mammals of the Solomon Islands Critically endangered fauna of Oceania Mammals described in 1991