Pteropus gilliardorum Van Deusen 1969
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 gilliardorum

description: 139.
Gilliard’s Flying Fox
Pteropus gilliardorum
French: Roussette des Gilliard / German: Gilliard-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Gilliard
Taxonomy. Pteropus gilliardi [sic] Van Deusen, 1969,
“Camp 12 (“summit camp”), Wild Dog Ridge, Whiteman Mountains, New Britain [Island, Papua New Guinea]; elevation about 5200 feet (1600 meters).”
Pteropus gilliardorum is in the pelagicus species group. T. F. Flannery in 1995 amended gilliardi to gilliardorum in accordance with Article 31 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Monotypic.
Distribution. Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain and E New Ireland Is), Papua New Guinea.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 154-178 mm (tailless), ear 20-25 mm, hindfoot 34— 40 mm, forearm 114-120 mm; weight 400 g (adult male). Muzzle of Gilliard’s Flying Fox is covered with very short, black, brown, and silvery hairs, giving bare appearance. Ears are rounded. Pelage is generally olive-brown. Top of head, cheeks, and throat are overall grayish black because of a mix of entirely gray hairs and dark hairs tipped with silver-gray. Mantle is warmer toned than back and rump, between dark brown and olive-brown; hairs on neck glands are deeper yellow-brown. Back and rump are mummy brown, and central back has concentrated dark guard hairs. Venter is similar to mantle. Ventral surface of wing membranes near forearm has short, golden yellow hairs; tibia is naked above. Wing membranes are dark brown; index claw is present. Skull has strong basicranial deflection, moderately long rostrum, large orbits, rounded braincase, thin zygomatic arches, relatively wide palate, and domed braincase. Mandible is gracile, coronoid is thin and sloping, and angle is inconspicuous. Upper dentition has small spatulated incisors, C' is long and thin, P' is minute, and cheekteeth are very small and narrow. Lower dentition has small incisors, inner incisors are widely separated and less than one-half the size of outer incisors, C is short and slanted outward, cheekteeth are exceedingly small and narrow, and last molar is minute.
Habitat. Mature tropical forests with scrambling bamboo, rhododendron, and pandanus at elevations of 200-2300 m.
Food and Feeding. Reduced dentition of Gilliard’s Flying Fox suggests a diet of nectar and soft fruits.
Breeding. The single adult known, a male, had secondary sex glands on sides of neck.
Activity patterns. Gilliard’s Flying Fox is presumably nocturnal and roosts in canopy foliage.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Gilliard’s Flying Fox presumably roosts cryptically in small groups.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Data Deficient on The [UCN Red List. Gilliard’s Flying Fox is only known from six specimens from three localities. It is not known if it occurs in any protected area. New surveys and ecological studies are urgently needed to assessits conservation status.
Bibliography. Allison, Bonaccorso, Helgen & Hamilton (2008), Almeida et al. (2014), Bonaccorso (1998), Flannery (1990, 1995a), Van Deusen (1969).
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 137-138, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815