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 The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km. History The first inhabitants o ...

. It was once considered a subspecies of ''

Pteropus temminckii 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 The International Union for Conservation of Natu ...

'' 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.''

Taxonomy

The Bismarck masked flying fox was described as a new species in 1867 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters. Prior to 1995, the Bismarck masked flying fox was largely considered 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 ...

of the Temminck's flying fox (''Pteropus temminckii'').

Description

Its forearm length is .

Biology and ecology

It is one of the rare species of mammals in which the males can lactate.Bats: A World of Science and Mystery (Hardcover) by M. Brock Fenton, Nancy B. Simmons, p. 168. It is generally solitary, though males and females may roost together in pairs.

Range and habitat

The Bismarck masked flying fox is endemic to Papua New Guinea where it has been documented at a range of elevations from above sea level.

Conservation

As of 2010, it is evaluated as a

near-threatened species A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

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 ...

. It meets the criteria for this designation because of widespread habitat destruction across its range. It is likely experiencing "significant" population decline, though not higher than 30% over ten years, which would qualify it as a vulnerable species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1763843 Pteropus Mammals described in 1867 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Bats of Oceania