145.

Seram Flying Fox

Pteropus ocularis

French: Roussette de Céram / German: Seram-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Ceram

Other common names: Ceram Fruit Bat, Moluccan Spectacled Flying Fox

Taxonomy. Pteropus ocularis Peters, 1867,

“Ceram [= Seram Island],” Moluccas, Indonesia.

Pteropus ocularis is in the ornatus species group. Monotypic.

Distribution. Endemic to CC Moluccas (Buru, Ambon, and Seram Is).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 195 mm (tailless), ear 26 mm, hindfoot 47 mm, forearm 132-145 mm; weight 200-400 g. Greatest lengths of skulls are 59-63 mm and tibias 60 mm. The Seram Flying Fox is dark colored, with light mantle, small skull, and short and narrow muzzle. Dentition and overall size are similar to those of the Spectacled Flying Fox (P. conspicillatus), but it is considerably smaller in size. Ears are short and have more rounded tips than those of the Spectacled Flying Fox;it is generally black all over front and back, with yellow-brown to buffy mantle that extends around sides of neck. Eyes are surrounded by russet to cinnamon spectacles, which are less conspicuous than in the Spectacled Flying Fox. Uropatagium is reduced; calcar is small. Skull is typical pteropine but smaller than in the Spectacled Flying Fox.

Habitat. Old-growth forests and recently mangrove forests.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Seram Flying Fox is nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Seram Flying Fox is primarily solitary and does not form large colonies.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Seram Flying Fox has declined 30% overthree generations. Hunting and habitat loss have madeit relatively rare, and reduction of available habitat will further threaten it. [and conversion from deforestation, mining, oil exploration, and agroforestry resulted in loss of one-half oftotal forest coverage. It occurs in Manusela National Park on Seram, but habitat quality is in decline due to illegal logging. No protected area exists on Buru, and it is likely extinct on Ambon, which is already mostly developed and deforested.

Bibliography. Almeida et al. (2014), Andersen (1912b), Corbet & Hill (1992), Flannery (1995a), Simmons (2005), Tsang (2016g), Tsang et al. (2015).