165.

Banks Flying Fox

Pteropus fundatus

French: Roussette des Banks / German: Banks-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de las Islas de Banks

Taxonomy. Pteropus fundatus Felten & Kock, 1972,

Mota Island, Banks Islands, Vanuatu.

Pteropus fundatus is in the samoensis species group. Monotypic.

Distribution. N Vanuatu in Banks Is (Mota and Vanua Lava).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 137- 152 mm (tailless), ear 17-18 mm, hindfoot 26-30 mm, forearm 99-106 mm; weight 184-190 g. The Banks Flying Fox has narrow pointed muzzle and ocherous brown to buff pelage. Rhinarium is black, with well-developed furrow, and nostrils are shortly tubular. Irises are reddish brown. Ears are short and pointed, barely protruding above fur. Head is ocherous brown, crown is ocherous buff, and crown and distal cheeks have longersilver-buff hairs. Chin and muzzle are silver, extending to between eyes. Head of adult males can be light buff, extending from between eyes to beyond ears. Fur is long, and mantle is rich ocherous, not sharply demarcated from shorter haired, brown back. Males have orange tufts of bristly hairs on shoulder glands. Margins of wings on back are fringed with longersilver hairs. Lower back and rump are woollier and lighter buff. Uppersides oftibias are furred. Throat is ocherous, chest and belly are ocherous buff, and testes are brown and concealed in fur. Uropatagium is reduced, and calcar is small. Wing membranes are dark brown and originate from sides of body. Skull is delicate, with narrow rostrum, and lacks sagittal crest. Cheekteeth are small and narrow; P! is small, pin-like, and often missing; and [, is about one-half the size of L, Habitat. Coastal forests, gardens, and village verges.

Food and Feeding. On Mota Island, the Banks Flying Fox apparently feeds on flowers of Pandanus (Pandanaceae), coconuts, and bananas.

Breeding. Pregnant Banks Flying Foxes were recorded in June.

Activity patterns. Banks Flying Foxes are crepuscular and nocturnal; feeding activity started at 18:00 h. They reportedly roost in small groups obscured beneath dead hanging leaves of Pandanus trees on steep coastlines.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Extent of occurrence of the Banks Flying Fox is less than 350 km?, and all individuals occur at fewer than five locations. Ongoing threats include hunting.

Bibliography. Almeida et al. (2014), Felten & Kock (1972), Flannery (1995a), Helgen & Hamilton (2008b).