Pteropus is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, East Africa, and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are at least 60 extant species in the genus.
The spectacled flying fox, also known as the spectacled fruit bat, is a megabat that lives in Australia's north-eastern regions of Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea and on the offshore islands including Woodlark Island, Alcester Island, Kiriwina, and Halmahera.
The black flying fox or black fruit bat is a bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is among the largest bats in the world, but is considerably smaller than the largest species in its genus, Pteropus. The black flying fox is native to Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. It is not a threatened species.
The Admiralty flying fox is a species of fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae, the megabats. It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
The Ryukyu flying fox or Ryukyu fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Japan, Taiwan, and the Batanes and Babuyan Islands of the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss and by hunting for food and the IUCN classify it as "Vulnerable".
The Ontong Java flying fox is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the Ontong Java Atoll in the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. It was classified as "Critically Endangered" in 2021 by the IUCN. Its confirmed range extends only over small islands, all of which are near to sea level. It is threatened by rising sea levels.
The small flying fox, island flying fox or variable flying fox is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The lesser flying fox or Sanborn's flying fox is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The species is poorly known, but is believed to inhabit coastal lowlands, including tropical rainforest. Although the species has been found plantations, the habitat of the species is fragmented by increasing agriculture and logging.
The black-bearded flying fox is an endangered species of megabat in the genus Pteropus. It is endemic to Indonesia, found on the islands of Ambon, Buru, Seram, Banda, and Yamdena. Currently considered monotypic, it formerly included the Aru flying fox and Kei flying fox as subspecies.
The black-eared flying fox, species Pteropus melanotus, is a bat of the family Pteropodidae (megabats). Also known as Blyth's flying fox, it is found on the Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands (India), and in Sumatra (Indonesia). A population on Christmas Island, which is critically endangered, has been placed as a subspecies of this population. The conservation and taxonomic status of that population was later re-established as a distinct species, the Christmas Island fruit-bat Pteropus natalis.
The Temotu flying fox is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands. It is threatened by habitat destruction due to subsistence agricultural practices, as well as natural disasters such as tropical cyclones. Due to its imperiled status, it is identified by the Alliance for Zero Extinction as a species in danger of imminent extinction. In 2013, Bat Conservation International listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation.
The Bonin flying fox, Bonin fruit bat, or in Japanese Ogasawara giant bat is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to four islands in Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Its natural habitat is subtropical forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Rodrigues flying fox or Rodrigues fruit bat is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae, the flying foxes or fruit bats. It is endemic to Rodrigues, an island in the Indian Ocean belonging to Mauritius. Its natural habitat is tropical lowland forests. The bats are sociable, roost in large groups during the day and feed at night, squeezing the juice and flesh out of fruits. They are hunted by humans for food and their numbers have been dwindling, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the species as being "endangered". In an effort to preserve them from extinction, some bats have been caught and are being bred in various zoos around the world.
The insular flying fox or Pacific flying fox is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is geographically widespread, the most widespread flying fox in the Pacific: it is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
The Vanikoro flying fox, also known locally as the basapine, is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It has only been found in the Vanikoro island group located in the southern Solomon Islands. The species as a whole was originally known from just a few specimens collected sometime before 1930 but following surveys conducted on the island in the early 1990s did not detect this species again causing the Vanikoro flying fox to be listed as extinct. However, the species was rediscovered by a survey conducted in late 2014 which indicated a population in the high hundreds or low thousands and reported all observations.
The dwarf flying fox, least flying fox, or least fruit bat is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands. It is threatened by deforestation, which is believed to damage roosting sites in old growth forests.
The Pteropodinae are a subfamily of megabats. Taxa within this subfamily are:
The Bismarck masked flying fox 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 before being reassessed in 2001. This species has two subspecies, P. c. capistratus and P. c. ennisae. The IUCN classified it as Near Threatened in 2009, noting that the rate of decline is almost high enough to reclassify the species as Vulnerable.
The Makira flying fox is a species of megabat in the genus Pteropus, found in the Solomon Islands. The species is currently decreasing and is endangered due to threats from logging and hunting. In 2013, Bat Conservation International listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation.
The Rennell flying fox is a species of flying fox found in the Solomon Islands. It is an endangered species risking extinction.
