86.

Panniet Naked-backed Fruit Bat

Dobsonia pannietensis

French: Roussette de Panaeati / German: Panniet-Nacktriickenflughund / Spanish: Dobsonia de Panniet

Other common names: De Vis's Bare-backed Fruit Bat, Panaeati Bare-backed Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Cephalotes pannietensis De Vis, 1905,

“Panniet [= Panaeadl] Island, 1.ouisiades [= Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea].”

Two subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

D.p.pannietensisDeVis,1905—D’Entre-casteauxIs(Goodenough,Fergusson,andNormanby)andLouisiadeArchi-pelago(Misima,Panaeati,Rossel,andVanatinaiIs).

D. p. remota Cabrera, 1920 — Trobriand Is (Kiriwina) and Woodlark Is.

A record attributed to Bougainville I is a misidentification of the Solomons Nakedbacked Fruit Bat (D. inermas).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 150-203 mm, tail 21-36 mm, ear 21-28 mm, hindfoot 25-40 mm, forearm 108-125 mm; weight 180-304 g. Adult male Panniet Nakedbacked Fruit Bats are much heavier than females. Upper back is gray-brown; venteris medium brown, with yellow wash along midline. Head is black-brown and tends to be darker on young individuals. Coarse, erect, brown, or red-brown hairs cover nape and shoulders. Wings meet along spine with underlying fur (naked-backed condition). Claws are pale tan. Ears are long and narrow. Short tail is free of narrow uropatagium that runs along legs to short stiff calcars. Index claw (second digit of wing) is absent. Upper incisors are small, lower pair is minute, and P|is reduced in size.

Habitat. Tropical moist lowland to lower montane forests from sea level up ¢. 1300 m.

Food and Feeding. The Panniet Naked-backed Fruit Bat is frugivorous. Native figs are probably important dietary components.

Breeding. Pregnant Panniet Naked-backed Fruit Bats were observed in August on Goodenough (first trimester with 9-g fetus) and October on Woodlark. A lactating female was recorded in August on Woodlark.

Activity patterns. The Panniet Naked-backed Fruit Bat is nocturnal and roosts in tree hollows and limestone caves.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Panniet Naked-backed Fruit Bat is gregarious, roosting in small groups in cave twilight zones. It is host to the ectoparasitic streblid bat fly Megastrebla gigantea.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Panniet Naked-backed Fruit Bat has a distribution ofless than 6000 km *, and quality of its habitat is declining. It is close to qualifying as Vulnerable. Important roosts should be protected. Panniet Naked-backed Fruit Bats occur in protected wildlife management areas on Goodenough and at Lake LLawma on Fergusson. It is likely more vulnerable on the Trobriands and Woodlark Island (subspecies remota). It is threatened by deforestation in parts of its distribution. Hunting might be a threat becauseit is large enough to be a good source of meat. Additional studies are needed on its population trends, ecology, and conservation threats.

Bibliography. Bonaccorso (1998), Flannery (1995a), Helgen, Allison et al. (2008b), Maa (1971).