The New Ireland masked flying fox (''Pteropus ennisae'') is a species of megabat that is endemic to

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 ...

Taxonomy and etymology

The New Ireland masked flying fox was initially described in 1991 by

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 ...

and J. P. White, who regarded it as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

Temminck's flying fox Temminck's flying fox (''Pteropus temminckii'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Indonesia. The species was classified as "Vulnerable" in 2008 by the IUCN due to threats from habitat destruction Habitat ...

(''Pteropus temminckii ennisae''). 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 ...

had been collected by Flannery, Lester Seri, T. Heinsohn, and Patricia Ennis on the island of New Ireland in 1988. In a 1995 publication, Flannery considered it instead as a subspecies of the

Bismarck masked flying fox The Bismarck masked flying fox (''Pteropus capistratus'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae found in Papua New Guinea and named after the Bismarck Archipelago. It was once considered a subspecies of '' Pteropus temminckii'' b ...

(''Pteropus capistratus ennisae''). However, a 2014 study found that the genetic distance between ''P. capistratus'' and ''P. c. ennisae'' (4.7%), along with several physical differences, was enough to warrant elevating ''P. ennisae'' to species level. The

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for the species name ''ennisae'' is Patricia "Tish" Ennis.

Description

Individuals have a mass of , a head and body length of and a forearm length of . It can be differentiated from the Bismarck masked flying fox by its indistinct facial markings, darker claws, and darker flight membranes. The top of its head lacks the yellowish tint seen in the Bismarck masked flying fox.

Range and habitat

The New Ireland masked flying fox is

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 island of New Ireland in

. It is found in forested habitat from sea level to above sea level.

Conservation

As of 2022, it is considered a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

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 population is thought to number between 9,000 and 10,000 mature individuals with a declining trend. It is an uncommon species, occurring in a low density throughout its range. There is extensive and ongoing

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 ...

on Papua New Guinea that is causing habitat loss.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q117349977 Pteropus Mammals described in 1991 Taxa named by Tim Flannery Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Bats of Oceania