Pteropus mahaganus Sanborn 1931
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 mahaganus

description: 140.
Sanborn’s Flying Fox
Pteropus mahaganus
French: Roussette de Sanborn / German: Sanborn-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Sanborn
Other common names: Lesser Flying Fox
Taxonomy. Pteropus mahaganus Sanborn, 1931,
“Tunnibuli, Ysabel or Mahaga Island, East Central Solomon Islands.”
Pteropus mahaganus is in the pelagicus species group. Monotypic.
Distribution. Solomon Is (Buka, Bougainville, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, and Tanabuli).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 190- 235 mm (tailless), ear 22-25 mm, hindfoot 40-50 mm, forearm 126-153 mm; weight 325-520 g (mean 445 g). Muzzle of Sanborn’s Flying Fox is narrow and pointed, and rhinarium is dark brown, with short tubular nostrils and median furrow. Eyes are medium-sized, with reddish brown irises. Ears clearly protrude above fur, and tips are narrowly rounded. Pelage is variable, shades of buff, with gray bases. Head is warm buff; cheeks, muzzle, and hair around eyes have long dark brown hairs. Mantle and fore neck are light buff, and neck tufts on shoulder glands are tawny to russet. Back is warm buff to tawny olive, interspersed with dark brown hairs. Chest and belly are warm buff, and anal region is lighter. Tibia is dark and unfurred. Uropatagium and calcar are clearly visible. Wing membranes are black and originate slightly above medial plane. Skull is typical pteropine, with strong basicranial deflection, rather long rostrum, heavy nasal process of premaxillae, medium-sized orbit, rather flat braincase, low sagittal crest, relatively thick zygomatic arches, long postorbital processes, and long, relatively wide palate. Mandible is gracile, and coronoid and angle are comparatively large. Cheekteeth are narrow and reduced in height and width, P|is similar in size to M,, and canines have many grooves, one especially deep on anterior face, and narrow internal basal edge.
Habitat. [Lowland forests, old gardens, and ultramafic forests up to elevations of c. 600 m.
Food and Feeding. Reduced dentition suggests primarily nectarivorous diet, including coconut and sago palm (Metroxylon salomonense, Arecaceae) flowers.
Breeding. A Sanborn’s Flying Fox captured in March on Santa Isabel was lactating.
Activity patterns. Sanborn’s Flying Fox is presumably nocturnal and might roost in hollow trees.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Sanborn’s Flying Fox might roost alone or in small groups.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [IUCN Red List. Extent of occurrence of Sanborn’s Flying Fox is more than 50,000 km?, and area of occupancy is more than 2000 km? Population is fragmented in three island groups. It is common but never captured in large numbers in mist nets. It is recorded only rarely, and more research is needed to ascertain population size and trend and response to habitat degradation.
Bibliography. Almeida et al. (2014), Bonaccorso (1998), Bowen-Jones et al. (1997), Flannery (1995a), Lavery (20179).
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