Pteropus alecto Temminck 1837
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 alecto

description: 152.
Black Flying Fox
Pteropus alecto
French: Roussette alecto / German: Schwarzer Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador negro
Other common names: Central Flying Fox
Taxonomy. Pteropus alecto Temminck, 1837,
“le district de Menado dans I'ile Célebes [= North Sulawesi],” Indonesia.
Pteropus alecto is in the griseus species group. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
P.a.alectoTemminck,1837—Sulawesi,includingSelayarI.
P.a.aterrimusMatschie,1899—EJava,Bawean,andLombokIs.Theserecordshavenotbeenconfirmedrecently.
P. a. gouldii Peters, 1868 — N & E Australia (including several islands on the N & E coasts: Tiwi, Groote Eylandt, Torres Strait, Magnetic, Carlisle, Percy, North Keppel, and Fraser) and coastal plain of S New Guinea (Western and Central provinces in P.a. New Guinea); in P.a. New Guinea it might also occur in Gulf Province and offshore islands off S coast E to Yule I.
P a. morio K. Andersen, 1908 — Lesser Sundas (Sumba and Savu Is).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 186- 280 mm (tailless), ear 29-37 mm, hindfoot 43-52 mm, forearm 153-191 mm; weight 590-880 g. Greatest lengths of skulls are 67-70 mm and tibias 81-90 mm. The Black Flying Fox is dark, with broad heavy rostrum and strong sagittal crest. Nominate form in Sulawesi is the largest subspecies; moro is the smallest. Australian subspecies gouldii is similar to the nominate form except that it has longer fur, narrower rostrum, and weaker dentition. Eyes are relatively large, with chocolate-brown irises. Ears are somewhat broad, with rounded or slightly attenuated tips. Head and most of body are dark; mantle is dark brown or chestnut to maroon in some individuals. Fur of mantle is rigid and oily in males and generally spreads outward. Base of fur is black. Body pelageis slightly woolly and black to dark brown, with sprinkles of white or bufty hairs. Fur is short and closely adpressed on back, with fur on sides of back particularly short. Tibia is naked. Rump is sometimes washed with deep reddish brown. Center of interfemoral region is developed. Dentition is weak. Canines are slender. Premolars do not have basal ledges (except in subspecies aterrimus, where there is some trace of posterior basal ledge in P° and P,). Cheekteeth are short and broad.
Habitat. Coastal tropical and tropical moist broadleaf forests, mangroves, swamp forests, eucalypt open forests, bamboo groves, savanna woodlands, and modified landscapes (e.g. orchards or urban areas) from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1000 m. The Black Flying Fox prefers coastal areas Food and Feeding. The Black Flying Fox feeds on fruits, flowers, nectar, and pollen. Major dietary items in Australia, including flowers, come from at least 16 plant genera in 12 families including figs (Ficus, Moraceae). In urban settings in Brisbane, Australia, it fed on Ficus; Oreodoxa and Syagrus (both Arecaceae); Celtis (Cannabaceae); Schefflera (Araliaceae); Mangifera (Anacardiaceae); and Eriobotrya (Rosaceae). It also ate nectar and pollen of native hybrid Grevillea (Proteaceae) and Callistemon (Myrtaceae). In Indonesia, it eats nectar from durian (Durio zibethinus, Malvaceae). It feeds primarily at canopies in rainforest sites, demonstrating some site fidelity although visitation to foraging sites can shift with seasonal resource shifts. Gut passage rate of under an hour combined with flying between foraging and roosting sites suggests that it is likely an important seed disperser for disjunct forest fragments.
Breeding. The Black Flying Fox breeds seasonally and reproduces once a year. Courtship and mating occur in March-April, primarily during the day. In Australia, males have been recorded courting one female at a time but mate in polygynous groups of one male and up to four females. A male initiates courtship by approaching and sniffing a female with his head angled forward toward her urogenital region; the female can respond by remaining in position or avoid the male by turning away or fending him off. The male licks the vagina if the female is not resisting and persistently does so for several seconds to a minute if the female is resistant. The male then moves behind the female to align himself for copulation, restrains her by biting fur on her scruff, and restrains her wings with his own. Females often struggle and vocalize during copulation, at times releasing their foothold on a branch and grasping the male’s legs for support. Copulation ends after a few seconds to more than three minutes with the release of the female, and males make a loud call. Copulation can occur multiple times. The entire courtship sequence ends when the pair separates and each starts to groom their own genital regions. Young can interfere with courtship to attempt to suckle from their mothers and can loosen the hold of males. Lactating and non-lactating females were observed in single pairs and polygynous groups. Females give birth to one young in October-December in large maternity colonies. Pregnancy lasts c.6 months, and lactation lasts 3-6 months. Females reach sexual maturity by two years of age. The Black Flying Fox hybridizes with the Gray-headed Flying Fox (P. poliocephalus) and the Spectacled Flying Fox (P. conspicillatus) in Australia.
Activity patterns. The Black Flying Fox is nocturnal, leaving roosting sites around dusk to forage and returning around dawn. It roosts in foliage, but there is one example ofit roosting in a natural limestone tower in northern Australia.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Black Flying Fox is generally gregarious and roosts colonially. In Papua New Guinea, colonies can contain several hundred up to 3000 individuals. In Australia, total population estimates vary widely (e.g. 108,000-250,000 individuals in 2016). In Sulawesi, it is the most common flying fox, but the population is threatened by repeated hunting events, and no total population estimates are available. Genetic evidence suggests that the Sulawesi nominate form is a single panmictic population. Using satellite telemetry, it has been recorded to fly 150 km between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, with a maximum of 220 km covered in two days between roosts. Average nightly movement between roosts is 20 km. Movements vary greatly, and some individuals remain relatively sedentary where food is abundant. In Brisbane, individuals moved ¢. 26 km during nightly foraging. It roosts with other flying fox species, with some degree of physical segregation among species. Colonies leave roosts in a loose stream. During the day,it rests at roosts and exhibits typical pteropodine activity, such as wing flapping and occasional conspecific territorial interactions. In a study in Australia, active territorial defense was recorded by late January, with males scent-marking territories by rubbing neck glands on branches and tree trunks throughout the day. Territorial defense including displays (vocalizations or brief pursuits) or physical contact (wrestling or wing slapping) occurs in response to encroachment on defended branches.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. In Australia the Black Flying Fox has recently expanded on eastern coast as far south as around Sydney. In Indonesia,it is threatened primarily by intensive, unsustainable hunting and habitat loss of roosting and foraging sites. Bushmeat market in Manado, northern Sulawesi, extends outward to find source populations to supply an estimated 100 tons of Black Flying Foxes, importing from other Indonesian islands to satisfy demand. No national laws protect the Black Flying Fox. In New Guinea, it is primarily threatened by loss of foraging and roosting habitat along with hunting. In Australia,it is threatened by habitat conversion of foraging and roosting habitat to agriculture, pastureland, and urban development. Additional threats include electrocution on powerlines, entanglement on barbed wire or power lines, persecution by humans, and disturbance of maternity colonies. There has been an increase in persecution of flying foxes due to public concerns about diseases, smell, and noise associated with large colonies, particularly as they move into areas where they were rare. The Black Flying Fox is increasingly exposed to extreme heat events that can lead to high rates of mortality, especially for young.
Bibliography. Almeida etal. (2014), Andersen (1912b), Bergmans & Rozendaal (1988), Bonaccorso (1998), Breed et al. (2010), Churchill (2008), Corbet & Hill (1992), Flannery (1995a), Fox (2006), Fox et al. (2008), Lavery et al. (2012), Lee et al. (2005), Markus (2002), Markus & Hall (2004), McWilliam (1986), Palmer & Woinarski (1999), Palmer et al. (2000), Ratcliffe (1932), Roberts et al. (2017), Sheherazade & Tsang (2015), Sheherazade et al. (2019), Simmons (2005), Stager & Hall (1983), Vardon & Tidemann (1998), Webb &Tidemann (1995), Welbergen etal. (2008).
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 pages 144-145, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815