''Pteralopex'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of large megabats in the family Pteropodidae. Species in this genus are commonly known as "monkey-faced bats". They are restricted to

Solomon Islands rain forests The Solomon Islands rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion covering most of the Solomon Islands archipelago. Geography Included are the islands of Bougainville and Buka, which are part of Papua New Guinea and most of the islands within th ...

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

, and all species are seriously

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

, being rated as either

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

or critically endangered by

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 ...

.IUCN (2008)
2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Accessed 2008-12-17. Two species, ''P. taki'' and ''P. flanneryi'', have been described since 2000.

Species

The Fijian monkey-faced bat, formerly placed in this genus, has recently been transferred to the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

'' Mirimiri''.Helgen, K. M. (2005). ''Systematics of the Pacific monkey-faced bats (Chiroptera : Pteropodidae), with a new species of Pteraloplex and a new Fijian genus.'' Systematics and Biodiversity, 3(4):433-453. * Bougainville monkey-faced bat, ''Pteralopex anceps'' * Guadalcanal monkey-faced bat, ''Pteralopex atrata'' * Greater monkey-faced bat, ''Pteralopex flanneryi'' * Montane monkey-faced bat, ''Pteralopex pulchra'' * New Georgian monkey-faced bat, ''Pteralopex taki''Parnaby, H. E. (2002). ''A taxonomic review of the genus Pteralopex (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae), the Monkey-faced Bats of the South-western Pacific.'' Australian Mammalogy. 23: 145-162.

References

Bat genera Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas {{fruit-bat-stub