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Order : CHIROPTERA
Family : Pteropodidae
Species : Pteropus alecto
Forearm Length : up to 19 cm
Weight : up to 1000 gms
The Black Flying Fox, or
Central Flying Fox, is a wide-ranging species which occurs in eastern
Indonesia (Sulawesi), New Guinea and northern Australia. It inhabits
tropical and subtropical mangrove, coastal forest, swamp forest and riverine
forest.
It is known to form mixed colonies with other species of flying fox, which
may include thousands of individuals. Large-scale movements of hundreds of
these bats have been documented between eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
and Australia covering many hundreds of kilometres in a year.
The diet of this species includes a variety of flowers and fruits. For
example, in Australia, eucalypts and Banksia are consumed, and in
tropical eastern Indonesia rainforest fruits are eaten. The species also has
a taste for cultivated fruits, particularly mango.
Their fur is typically jet black throughout, but some populations or
individuals possess a brown patch of fur on the back of the neck and
shoulders. In some individuals the tips of each hair may be frosted with
grey.
In Sulawesi over-hunting for food has had a dramatic effect on populations,
such that the species is now considered to be absent from North Sulawesi
province (including the area around Manado).
Fig 1 : Typical example
with jet black fur, and frosted hair tips on the upper chest. Brownish-black
fur can be seen at the back of the neck.
Figs 2 and 3 : Another example, consuming a ripe mango in a city park. This
specimen has more pronounced brown fur on the back of the neck.
Fig 4 : A roost in riverine forest.
All images from Northern Territory, Australia.
References : M7
IUCN
I
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