''Pteropus pelagicus'' is a species of
fruit bat in the family
Pteropodidae. It includes two subspecies that were formerly recognized as full species— ''Pteropus insularis'' (Chuuk flying fox) and ''Pteropus phaeocephalus'' (Mortlock flying fox).
It 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 els ...
to
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
. It is threatened by
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
.
Etymology and taxonomy
The species was
described by German naturalist
Heinrich von Kittlitz in 1836.
He gave it the species name ''
pelagicus'' .
[Kittlitz FH. (1836. eprinted 1971 Observation Zoologiques faites pendant l’expédition de la corvette Le Séniavine. In: Lütke F, Voyage autour du monde, 1826–1829, Volume 3 Bibliotheca Australiana No. 60. Da Capo Press, New York, 237–330]
In 2013, a study was published that challenged the status of the Chuuk flying fox and the Mortlock flying fox as species.
The study stated that the Chuuk flying fox was not significantly different from the Mortlock flying fox, and that they represent two subspecies of the same species, which should be called ''Pteropus pelagicus''. They proposed that the Chuuk flying fox be referred to as ''P. p. insularis'', and the
Mortlock flying fox
''Pteropus pelagicus'' is a species of fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae. It includes two subspecies that were formerly recognized as full species— ''Pteropus insularis'' (Chuuk flying fox) and ''Pteropus phaeocephalus'' (Mortlock flyin ...
be referred to as ''P. p. pelagicus''. The study also concluded that the closest relative of ''P. pelagicus'' is the
Guam flying fox, based on
morphology.
[Buden, D. W., Helgen, K. M., & Wiles, G. J. (2013). Taxonomy, distribution, and natural history of flying foxes (Chiroptera, Pteropodidae) in the Mortlock Islands and Chuuk State, Caroline Islands. ZooKeys, (345), 97.]
A 2014 study that used genetics also concluded that the Guam flying fox was the
sister taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
to ''P. pelagicus''.
There are currently two recognized
subspecies of ''Pteropus pelagicus'', both of which were formerly recognized as distinct species.
* ''P. p. pelagicus''
Kittlitz, 1836 (
Nomoi Islands)
* ''P. p. insularis''
Hombron and Jacquinot, 1842 (Islands of
Chuuk Lagoon
Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harb ...
and
Namonuito Atoll)
The authors of the 2013 study suggested that the common name of Chuuk flying fox be retained to refer to ''Pteropus pelagicus''. They recommended it over the name "Mortlock flying fox" because there is a tradition of using geographic-based common names for flying foxes of the
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
.
According to traditional classification, ''P. pelagicus'' is in the ''P. pselaphon''
species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
.
However, more recent genetic analysis places it in the newly-described ''P. pelagicus'' species group, consisting of the following species:
*''Pteropus pelagicus''
*
Guam flying fox, ''Pteropus tokudae''
*
Big-eared flying fox
The big-eared flying fox (''Pteropus macrotis'') is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae, larger bats who subsist largely on fruits. The species is distributed across a range in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and islands nearing the Cape York ...
, ''Pteropus macrotis''
*
Dwarf flying fox
The dwarf flying fox, least flying fox, or least fruit bat (''Pteropus woodfordi'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands. It is threatened by deforestation
Deforestation or forest ...
, ''Pteropus woodfordi''
*
Lesser flying fox, ''Pteropus mahaganus''
*
Gilliard's flying fox, ''Pteropus gilliardorum''
*
Caroline flying fox, ''Pteropus molossinus''
Description
The heads of the adults are creamy white,
buff, or tawny in adults.
The heads of the juveniles are grayish brown, lacking red or yellow highlights.
The back and rump are dark brown, with lighter hairs interspersed throughout.
Their faces are dark brown to almost black, while the tops of the heads are brown or grayish brown.
Their throats and chests are light brown or reddish brown, while their lower abdomen is darker brown.
Many individuals have a large white patch on their bellies.
Individual hairs are long.
''P. p. pelagicus'' has more contrast in its coloration than ''P. p. insularis'', and they also tend to have larger abdominal white patches.
Their forearms are long.
They weigh .
Biology
''P. p. pelagicus'' roosts in small groups of 5-10 individuals, although gatherings as large as 27 have been observed.
They eat
breadfruit
Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of '' Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Phil ...
,
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry (botany), berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, Cooking banana, bananas used for ...
s,
papaya
The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...
, and ''
Pandanus
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...
'' fruits.
In July, many of the females have pups, though larger pups have also been observed in April.
Copulation has been observed in December.
''P. p. insularis'' roosts in larger groups of up to 100 individuals; they are considered a "strongly
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 a ...
" species.
Individuals are sometimes found by themselves, though.
It is considered at least somewhat
diurnal, unlike most flying foxes which are mostly
nocturnal
Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have ...
.
[Pierson, E. D., & Rainey, W. E. (1992, July). The biology of flying foxes of the genus Pteropus: a review. In Pacific island flying foxes: proceedings of an international conservation conference (Vol. 90, pp. 1-17). US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.]
Range and habitat
''P. pelagicus'' is located on the
Nomoi Islands,
Chuuk Lagoon
Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harb ...
, and
Namonuito Atoll. All three locations are within the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states compri ...
. ''P. p. pelagicus'' is found on the Nomoi islands, while ''P. p. insularis'' is located on the other two sites. The range of the two subspecies is separated by .
[Rainey WE, Pierson ED. (1992) Distribution of Pacific island flying foxes. In: Wilson DE, Graham GL. (Eds). Pacific island flying foxes: proceedings of an international conservation conference. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 90(23): 111-121][Kepler AK. (1994) Report: Chuuk coastal resource inventory, terrestrial surveys, August 4–14, 1993.Administrative report to CORIAL (Coastal, Ocean, Reef, and Island Advisors, Ltd.), Federated States of Micronesia Government, The Nature Conservancy Hawaii, and East-West Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.][Flannery TF. (1995) Mammals of the south-west Pacific & Moluccan Islands. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.]
The entire range of ''P. p. pelagicus'' is only , with 75% of the population occurring on
Satawan
Satawan Atoll is an atoll located about southeast of Chuuk Lagoon proper.
Geographically it is part of the Nomoi or Mortlock Islands in the Carolines and administratively it is part of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Abou ...
and
Lukunor atolls.
Conservation
When they were still considered separate species, the
IUCN assessed that both the Chuuk flying fox and the Mortlock flying fox were
critically endangered.
[Helgen, K. & Wiles, G. 2010. Pteropus insularis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
2010: e.T18730A8512587. http://www.iucnredlist.org/pdflink.8512587][Duff, A., & Lawson, A. (2004). Mammals of the world: a checklist. Yale University Press.]
The IUCN has not yet assessed the status of ''Pteropus pelagicus'', however.
''P. p. pelagicus'' is threatened by climate change, as the atolls where they live are only above sea level.
Climate change is also projected to increase the frequency and intensity of
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s, which negatively impact both subspecies.
Based on censuses, the population of ''P. p. pelagicus'' was estimated at 925–1,200 individuals in 2004.
Unlike other species of flying fox, there does not appear to be much of a
bushmeat
Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents
a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tro ...
trade in this species.
Micronesians
The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan.
Ethno ...
reportedly disdain flying foxes as food because they
urinate on themselves and Micronesians view them as rat-like
vermin
Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases or destroy crops or livestock. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by region and enterpri ...
.
Other threats potentially include
introduced predators such as
cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
s,
rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s, and
mangrove monitors.
In 1986, there were an estimated 5,628 ''P. p. insularis'', but a steep decline took place.
In two years (1988-1989), 3,723 of them were exported to
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...
for human consumption.
''P. p. insularis'' is not as threatened by climate change as the ''pelagicus'' subspecies, because its range has greater elevation.
''P. pelagicus'' was protected under
CITES Appendix II in 1987, which was criticized by bat conservationists for not taking strict enough measures to protect flying foxes.
It was protected under
CITES Appendix I in 1989, making commercial trade of it illegal.
[Brautigan, A. (1992, July). Conservation of Pacific island flying foxes and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora. In Pacific island flying foxes: proceedings of an international conservation conference (DE Wilson and GL Graham, eds.). United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC (pp. 155-159).]
Sources
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2129846
Bats of Oceania
Fauna of Micronesia
Mammals described in 1836
Pteropus
Taxa named by Heinrich von Kittlitz
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot