Monkey face bats

Monkey face bats
	Head of Pteralopex atrata; (lithograph by Joseph Smit , 1888)
Systematics
Subclass :	Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate :	Laurasiatheria
Order :	Bats (chiroptera)
Family :	Fruit bats (Pteropodidae)
Tribe :	Actual fruit bats (Pteropodini)
Genre :	Monkey face bats
Scientific name
	Pteralopex
	Thomas , 1888

Monkey face flying foxes ( pteralopex ) are a genus within the taxon actual flying foxes with five species that occur on the Solomon Islands .

A distinction is made between the following types:

Pteralopex anceps , lives on Bougainville , Choiseul and possibly Santa Isabel .
Pteralopex atrata , occurs on Guadalcanal and New Georgia .
Pteralopex flanneryi , has been registered on Bougainville, Buka , Choiseul, and Santa Isabel.
The mountain monkey-faced bat ( Pteralopex pulchra ) can be found in the mountains of Guadalcanal.
Pteralopex taki , lives on New Georgia and Vangunu .

Until 2005, the Fijian fruit bat ( Mirimiri acrodonta ) was listed in the genus Pteralopex .

These fruit bats reach a head-torso length of 16.0 to 27.5 cm and have no tail. The forearm length is 11 to 17 cm and the weight varies between 241 and 506 g. The thick, woolly fur is mostly brown to black in color. In contrast, the underside of the mountain monkey-faced bat is yellow. In contrast to the genus Pteropus , the monkey face bats have teeth with cusps.

The description of the way of life is based in part on observations made by Mirimiri acrodonta . However, it is believed that the monkey face bats behave similarly. The animals sleep individually, in pairs or in small groups with up to ten members in tree hollows, on the tree trunk or in ferns that are settled on trees. The resting place is usually 6 to 10 meters above the ground. Figs , pollen , coconuts and other fruits that are often found in plantations serve as food . The young are probably born between April and June. In July a suckling female could be observed.

All species are threatened by deforestation. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists Pteralopex flanneryi and Pteralopex pulchra as critically endangered and the other species as critically endangered.

Individual evidence

↑ Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 333 f . (English, Pteralopex [accessed June 15, 2016]).
↑ ^a ^b ^c Pteralopex in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015. Accessed December 20, 2015.
^ ^A ^b Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's mammals of the world . 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 , pp. 273 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).

Web links

Commons : Monkey face bats ( pteralopex ) - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

[Wilson-1] Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 333 f . (English, Pteralopex [accessed June 15, 2016]).

[IUCN-2] Pteralopex in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015. Accessed December 20, 2015.

[Walkers-3] A ^b Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's mammals of the world . 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 , pp. 273 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).