Black Flying fox
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Pteropodidae
Genus:	Pteropus
Species:	P. alecto
Binomial name
Pteropus alecto Temminck, 1837
Black Flying-fox range

The black flying fox, Pteropus alecto, is a fruitbat in the family Pteropodidae. Members of the genus Pteropus include the largest bats in the world. The Pteropus genus has currently about 57 recognised species. The genus is primarily an island taxon, with 55 species having some or all of their distribution on islands.

Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Physical characteristics 3 Distribution 4 Roosting habits 5 Reproduction 6 Life-span 7 Diet 8 Conservation 9 Wildlife rescue 10 References 11 External links 12 Gallery

[edit] Taxonomy

Juvenile specimens of this species from Moa Island in Torres Strait have been described as a separate species, Pteropus banakrisi.^[2] This supposed species was known as the "Torresian Flying Fox" or "Moa Island Fruit Bat".

[edit] Physical characteristics

The black flying-fox has short black hair with a contrasting reddish-brown mantel with a mean forearm length of 164 mm and a mean weight of 710 grams. They are one of the largest bat species in the world, and have a wing-span of more than one metre.

[edit] Distribution

Black flying-foxes are native to Australia (NSW, Qld, NT and WA), Papua New Guinea (Western Province) and Indonesia (Sulawesi, Sumba, Savu and Papua).

[edit] Roosting habits

During the day individuals reside in large roosts (colonies or 'camps') consisting of hundreds to tens of thousands of individuals. They sometimes share their roosts the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) or little red flying fox (Pteropus scapulatus). They roost in mangroves, paperbark swamps, patches of rainforest and bamboo forests, and very rarely in caves or underneath overhangs.

[edit] Reproduction

Black flying-foxes breed once a year. A single young is born and carried by its mother for the first month of life, after which it is left behind in the roost when the mother is out foraging at night.

[edit] Life-span

The lifespan of black flying-foxes is unknown; however, it has been estimated that females which survive to maturity would need to live about 7 years to maintain a stable population.

[edit] Diet

Black flying-foxes eat pollen and nectar from native eucalyptus, Lilypillies, paperbark and turpentine trees. When native foods are scarce, particularly during drought, the bats may take introduced or commercial fruits such as mangos and apples. This species had been known to travel up to 50 km a night in search of food.

[edit] Conservation

The black flying fox is not listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List; nevertheles, the species is exposed to several threatening processes, including loss of foraging and roosting habitat, and mass die-offs caused by extreme temperature events. When present in urban environments black flying-foxes are sometimes perceived as a nuisance. Because the roosting and foraging habits of the black flying-fox bring the species into conflict with humans, it suffers from direct killing of animals in orchards and harassment and destruction of roosts. Negative public perception of the species has intensified with the discovery of three recently emerged zoonotic viruses that are potentially fatal to humans: Australian bat lyssavirus, Hendra virus, and Menangle virus. However, only Australian bat lyssavirus is known from two isolated cases to be directly transmissible from bats to humans.

[edit] Wildlife rescue

Flying foxes often come to the attention of Australian wildlife care and rescue organisations such as Wildcare Australia, ONARR, Wildlife Carers Darling Downs, Bat Care, Bat Rescue, Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers, and WIRES when reported as injured, sick, orphaned or abandoned. A very high proportion of adult flying fox injuries are caused by entanglement in barbed wire fences or loose, improperly erected fruit tree netting, both of which can result in very serious injuries and a slow, agonizing death for the animal if not rescued quickly.

If you find a bat in distress, leave it be but immediately contact one of the above care and rescue organisations. Bat carers are specially trained in techniques to rescue and rehabilitate bats, and although the chance of contracting Australian bat lyssavirus is extremely small, they are inoculated for their own protection.

[edit] References

• Hall, L. S. & Richards, G. C. (2000). Flying foxes: fruit and blossom bats of Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 0868405612. 
• Markus, N. (2002). "Behaviour of the black flying fox Pteropus alecto: 2. Territoriality and courtship". Acta Chiropterologica 4 (2): 153–166. 
• Markus, N. and Blackshaw, J. K. (2002). "Behaviour of the black flying fox, Pteropus alecto: 1. An ethogram of behaviour, and preliminary characterisation of mother-infant interactions". Acta Chiropterologica 4 (2): 137–152. 
• Vardon, M., C. Tidemann. (1998). "Reproduction, growth and maturity in the black flying-fox, Pteropus alecto (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae)". Australian Journal of Zoology 46: 329–344. doi:10.1071/ZO98023. 
• Vardon, M., C. Tidemann. (2000). "The black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) in north Australia: juvenile mortality and longevity". Australian Journal of Zoology 48: 91–97. doi:10.1071/ZO99060. 
• Welbergen, J.; Klose, S.; Markus, N.; Eby, P. (2008). "Climate change and the effects of temperature extremes on Australian flying-foxes". Proceedings. Biological sciences / the Royal Society 275 (1633): 419–425. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1385. PMID 18048286.  edit
• Welbergen, J. (2008). "Variation in twilight predicts the duration of the evening emergence of fruit bats from a mixed-species roost". Animal Behaviour 75: 1543–1550. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.10.007.  edit

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pteropus alecto

Wikispecies has information related to: Pteropus poliocephalus

• ARKive - images and movies of the black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto)
• Brief history of Megachiroptera / Megabats

[edit] Gallery

Group of Black flying-foxes in northern NSW