Pteropus woodfordi Thomas 1888
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Pteropodidae
Pteropus
Pteropus woodfordi

description: 141.
Dwarf Flying Fox
Pteropus woodfordi
French: Roussette de Woodford / German: Zwergflughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Woodford
Other common names: Least Flying Fox, Least Fruit Bat
Taxonomy. Pteropus woodfordi Thomas, 1888,
“Aola, Guadalcanar [= Guadalcanal Island] ... Solomon Islands.”
Pteropus woodfordi is in the pelagicus species group. Monotypic.
Distribution. Solomon Is (Fauro; New Georgia Is group including Vella Lavella, Ranongga, Kolombangara, New Georgia, Rendova, Tetepare, Vangunu, and Nggatokae (= Gatokae); Russell, Malaita, Nggela, and Guadalcanal).
Descriptive notes. Head—body 92-145 mm (tailless), ear 9—14 mm, hindfoot 26-28 mm, forearm 80-96 mm; weight 150 g (mean). Males have pungentfruity odor. The Dwarf Flying Fox is the smallest Pteropus; dark brown rhinarium, eyes are large, and irises are brown but more reddish in younger individuals. Ears are short, dark brown, triangular, and slightly pointed and protrude from fur. Pelage is long and woolly, and face and crown are brown, with variable amounts of silver gray or gold hair. Dorsum is soft and woolly; mantle is rufous; back hairs are brown, with silver or gold, and not adpressed; and tibia is unfurred. Uropatagium and calcar clearly project, often with sparse silver hairs. Throat, neck, and shoulders are rufous, and males have orange tufts of bristly hairs on shoulder glands. Chest and belly hairs are browntipped and silver, giving overall silver-gray appearance. Testes are large and prominent. Wing membranes are brown, arising above medial plane c. 15 mm apart on dorsum. Skull has light rostrum and mandible, orbits are relatively large, and sagittal crest is not obvious. Teeth are heavily reduced; canines are long, slender, and light; M* and P, are relatively equal; P? has an anterointernal basal cusp; and cheekteeth are exceedingly narrow.
Habitat. Secondary and primary lowland and montane forests and village gardens up to elevations of ¢. 1200 m (Guadalcanal).
Food and Feeding. The Dwarf Flying Fox is primarily nectarivorous and a common visitor to inflorescences of coconuts along island foreshores in late afternoons (feeding alongside lories and lorikeets) and early evenings. It might also feed on young green coconuts.
Breeding. Lactating Dwarf Flying Foxes have been captured on Kolombangara Island in May and on New Georgia in early October and pregnant females on New Georgia in May and October. A female carrying a dependent young 43% of her body weight was captured on Gatokae Island in late March.
Activity patterns. Dwarf Flying Foxes are crepuscular and nocturnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Dwarf Flying Foxes make a highpitch chattering call.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Extent of occurrence of the Dwarf Flying Fox is ¢. 90,000 km?. Although there has been a rapid decline in habitat quality over most of its distribution, there is no evidence that this has resulted in population decline.
Bibliography. Aimeida et al. (2014), Flannery (1995a), Lavery & Fisher (2017).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, pp. 16-162 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 138, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815