Small Mauritian Flying Fox

Small Mauritian Flying Fox
Small Mauritian Flying Fox
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Subfamily: Pteropodinae
Genus: Pteropus
Species: P. subniger
Binomial name
Pteropus subniger
Kerr, 1792

The Small Mauritian Flying Fox or Dark Flying Fox (Pteropus subniger) is an extinct species of megabat. It lived on the islands of Réunion and Mauritius in the Mascarene Islands of the Indian Ocean. It was abundant, with up to 400 sometimes crowding together at a single roost in a cave or in an ancient, hollow tree, while most other fruit bats prefer to roost in the branches of large trees. Local people believed that there was only one male per roost, which may indicate that the sexes roosted separately and that the large roosts were maternity colonies. The flying fox was nocturnal and had delicate teeth, so it probably fed on nectar and possibly soft fruit.

As it roosted in old trees and caves, it was vulnerable to forest clearance and hunting. It probably vanished in the 19th century. There are specimens in museums in Paris, London, Berlin, and Sydney.

References

  1. ^ Mickleburgh, S., Hutson, A.M.M., Bergmans, W. & Howell, K. (2008). Pteropus subniger. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 6 January 2009.