Pteropus ornatus J. E. Gray 1870
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 ornatus

description: 144.
Ornate Flying Fox
Pteropus ornatus
French: Roussette ornée / German: Schmuckflughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de las islas de la Lealtad
Taxonomy. Pteropus ornatus J. E. Gray, 1870,
New Caledonia.
Pteropus ornatus is in the ornatus species group with P. ocularis. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
P.o.ornatusJ.E.Gray,1870—NewCaledo-nia(GrandeTerre,IledesPins).
P. o. auratus K. Andersen, 1909 — Loyalty Is (Lifou I, Maré), New Caledonia.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 180- 187 mm (tailless), ear 19-26 mm, forearm 142-165 mm; weight 285-325 g (up to 440 g in pregnant females). Head of the Ornate Flying Fox is fox-like; muzzle is moderate, narrow, and sparsely haired; nostrils are black and very shortly tubular and diverge; philtrum is sided by furrow. Eyes are comparatively small, with brown to amber-brown irises. Ears are small, rounded terminating in blunt tips, blackish, and almost completely concealed in fur. Head pelage is very long, spreading to sides and variably pale brown, orange-brown, or rusty brown, frequently sparkled with silvery hairs. Grayish or creamy mustache often extends backward, forming an ill-defined eye ring. Mantle and occiput pelage is very long, woolly, and creamy buff or yellow on sides, bright yellow or white in center, not extending ventrally but often variously extending posteriorly along medial line, back to rump in some individuals; dorsal hairs are very long and wavy, backwardly directed, not adpressed; dorsal flanks are chocolate-brown to dark brown. Uropatagium is reduced to narrow strip along thickly furred tibia. Throat is densely covered in rusty long hairs, extending to sides of neck; chest and upper belly have long, dark chestnut pelage, with hairs having yellowish bases, sprinkled with silvery hairs; lower belly is dark brown. Wings are long and dark brown or blackish brown; index claw is present; all claws dark. Skull is typical pteropine, with noticeable basicranial deflection. Laterally, rostrum is long and relatively thin; premaxilla projects slightly downward and forward; orbit is moderate, with marked rim; zygomatic root is above sinuous alveolar line; zygoma is strong and arched, without dorsal spine; and braincase is domed. Dorsally, rostrum is long, premaxilla is slightly procumbent, postorbital process is long and arched, postorbital foramina are present, temporal lines join at obvious postorbital constriction in sharp sagittal crest, nuchal crest is obvious, and braincase is piriform. Ventrally, premaxilla is well separated from palate; palate is long, flat, and relatively narrow; tooth rows diverge slightly; post-dental palate is relatively wide, with arched end; ectopterygoids are prominent; ectotympanic is annular and small; and entotympanic is peg-like. Mandible is moderate, symphysisis long, coronoid is tall and curved, and tip is wide. Condyle is above concave lower alveolar line, and angle is widely rounded. Palatal ridges in 5 + 6 + 3 pattern. Upperincisors are spatulated; C' is long and slender and grooved anteriorly, with strong inner longitudinal ridge and basal cingulum; P' is minute and styliform, lacking on one side or both in most adults; posterior cheekteeth decrease in height posteriorly; ridges are rounded but well-marked; occlusal outline is rectangular; and M* 1s small and low. I, is small but double the size of I; C, is moderately large, slanted outward and with moderate inner cingulum; P| is of moderate size and rounded; posterior cheekteeth are almostas tall as C anteriorly, decreasing in size posteriorly; ridges are round but well-marked; occlusal outline is long rectangular; and M,is peg-like.
Habitat. Moist and dry forests of eastern and western halves of New Caledonia and moist forests on Loyalty Islands from sea level up to elevations of c¢. 1100 m. The Ornate Flying Fox prefers to roost in tall forests in gullies on slopes and upper parts of densely forested mountain slopes.
Food and Feeding. The Ornate Flying Fox is chiefly frugivorous and known to eat fruit from species of Mangifera and Semecarpus (Anacardiaceae), Carica (Caricaceae), Carya (Juglandaceae), Elaeocarpus (Elaeocarpaceae), Musa (Musaceae), Melaleuca, Psidium, and Syzygium (Myrtaceae) and flowers of Cocos (Arecaceae) and Passiflora (Passifloraceae).
Breeding. Births of Ornate Flying Foxes occur from late August to October, suggesting seasonal monoestry. Litter size is one. Females give birth for the first time in their second year.
Activity patterns. Ornate Flying Foxes are nocturnal and partly diurnal; individuals have been observed flying in early morning and evening.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Ornate Flying Fox 1s gregarious; it roosts in typical mixed-sex groups located in tall emergent trees. Roostfidelity is remarkable, and when undisturbed, occupation of roosts varied seasonally in response to fruiting and flowering trees.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Ornate Flying Fox has a limited distribution (less than 20,000 km?), fragmented on four islands, and populations have experienced decreases of more than 30% in the past three generations. It has been hunted since prehistoric times. Decline continues chiefly due to local hunting with shotguns for food and traditional uses but also deforestation and loss of traditional roosting sites. Legal hunting is allowed on a limited basis, but illegal commercial harvesting is widespread. It is vulnerable to diseases that have greatly affected populations in the 1960s. Colonies of more than 4000 individuals recorded in the 1950s are no longer found. The Ornate Flying Fox probably occurs in protected areas of New Caledonia (e.g. Col d’Amieu et Table Unio Special Faunal Reserve).
Bibliography. Almeida et al. (2014), Andersen (1912b), Brescia (2008b), Flannery (1995a), Hand & Grant-Mackie (2012), Rainey (1992), Sanborn & Nicholson (1950).
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 141, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815