Pteropus temminckii, Peters, 1867

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 152-153

172.

Temminck’s Flying Fox

Pteropus temminckii

French: Roussette de Temminck / German: Temminck-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Temminck

Taxonomy. Pteropus temminckii Peters, 1867 ,

“Samao [= Samoa], Amboina [Island],” Moluccas, Indonesia .

Sometimes spelled temmincki but the original spelling was temmainckii. Pteropus temmincki is the only memberof the temminckii species group. Monotypic.

Distribution. C Moluccas Is (Buru, Ambon, Seram, and nearby small islands).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 151-170 mm (tailless), ear 19-21 mm, hindfoot 30- 31 mm, forearm 94-108 mm; weight 145-155 g. Greatest lengths of skulls are 49-— 51 mm and tibias 41-49 mm. Temminck’s Flying Fox has slender,slightlylaterally compressed rostrum. It is generally silvery blond to pale brown throughout, with flecks from white-tipped hairs all around. Bases of hairs are dark brown to black. Mantle, fore neck, and sides of neck are particularly golden to golden bufty, at times with hint of ocherous bufty in fore neck. Fur is somewhat dense and moderately long and silky, covering proximal one-half of forearm and tibia down to ankle. Ears are moderate in length and broad, with somewhat rounded tips. Wing membranes are brown. Skull is pteropine; orbits are very large; and front of orbit is above middle or posterior of P, which is rather unusual. Sagittal crest is undeveloped, and temporal crests remain separated, always resulting in postorbital broader than interorbital constriction. Coronoid process along with dentition is weak, and coronoid height of mandible is much less than length of lower tooth row. C' is rather slender, with deep vertical groove and moderately sized cingulum. P* is rather rudimentary.

Habitat. Primary and secondary broadleaf forests and mangrove forests from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 800 m. Temminck’s Flying Fox is tolerant of some degree of habitat disturbance but prefers pristine lowland habitat when available. Due to habitat loss, forests in Central Maluku are now often only small patches of secondary forest (some of which are orchards and gardens) between human settlements. It is found relatively frequently in these patches compared with co-occurring species of Pteropus in Central Maluku. Use of each type of forest as roosting sites is difficult to evaluate due to the solitary nature of Temminck’s Flying Fox, and no foliage roosts have been recorded.

Food and Feeding. There are few direct records on diets of Temminck’s Flying Foxes, but there have been anecdotal stories of it feeding on Ceiba pentandra ( Malvaceae ), Ficus spp. (Moraceae) , and Syzygium spp. (Myrtaceae) . Weak dentition suggests some degree of nectarivory, much like other smaller-bodied species of Pacific Island Pteropus .

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Temminck’s Flying Fox is nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Temminck’s Flying Fox is solitary, making it difficult to track.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. It is suspected that populations of Temminck’s Flying Fox have declined more than 30% due to ongoing degradation of rather limited habitat on the small islands of Maluku, along with some level of local hunting. Rangers in Manusela National Park (Seram, Indonesia) have noted that it was found in the park, but species identity needs to be verified. Villagers occasionally hunt Temminck’s Flying Foxes as snacks, but impact of this on the population is difficult to evaluate.

Bibliography. Andersen (1912b), Corbet & Hill (1992), Flannery (1995a), Simmons (2005), Tsang (2016m), Tsang et al. (2015).

Figures

161. New Britain Masked Flying Fox (Pleropus capistratus), 162. New Ireland Masked Flying Fox (Pleropus ennisae), 163. New Caledonia Flying Fox (Pteropus vetula), 164. Common Samoan Flying Fox (Pteropus samoensis), 165. Banks Flying Fox (Pteropus fundatus), 166. Vanuatu Flying Fox (Pleropus anetianus), 167. Vanikoro Flying Fox (Pleropus tuberculatus), 168. Temotu Flying Fox (Pteropus nitendiensis), 169. Solomons Flying Fox (Pteropus rayneri), 170. Makira Flying Fox (Pteropus cognatus), 171. Rennell Flying Fox (Pteropus rennelli), 172. Temminck’s Flying Fox (Pteropus temminckui), 173. Gray-headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus)

Distribution. C Moluccas Is (Buru, Ambon , Seram, and nearby small islands).