Pteropus ualanus, Peters, 1883
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https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6448815 |
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6794744 |
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https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03AD87FA-FF9D-F673-896C-3677FF44F6A2 |
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Conny |
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Pteropus ualanus |
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158. View Plate 9: Pteropodidae
Kosrae Flying Fox
French: Roussette de Kosrae / German: Kosrae-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Kosrae
Other common names: Ualan Fruit Bat
Taxonomy. Pteropus ualanus Peters, 1883 View in CoL ,
“ Insel Kuschai (Oualan) [= Kosrae Island],” Federated States of Micronesia.
Pteropus ualanus is in the griseus species group. It is distinct from mariannus but closely related to tonganus and admiralitatum . Monotypic.
Distribution. Kosrae I, Micronesia. Specimen collected on Pohnpei (Caroline Is) in the 1800s was incorrectly labeled. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 187-230 mm (tailless), ear 23-24 mm, hindfoot 42-435 mm, forearm 127-133- 5 mm. Eyes of the Kosrae Flying Fox are small, with brown irises. Body is blackish brown, dorsum is slightly speckled with silvery gray hair, and venter is dark brown, also with speckles. Fore neck sometimes has dark rust-brown band. Mantle, sides of neck, and back of head up to ears are rust-brown or sandy-yellow. Crown is dark coffee to rust-brown, gradually darkening along sides of head to blackish deep brown on chin and throat. Uropatagium is reduced to narrow membrane along inside of lower limbs. Index finger has a claw. Skull is typical pteropine and c. 61 mm long. Dentition is typical pteropine, with short cheekteeth mesiodistally.
Habitat. Forests and mangroves from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 635 m.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. Kosrae Flying Foxes usually roost in trees during the day and fly to fruit trees at dusk.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Kosrae Flying Foxes mostly roost in colonies, presumably composed of harems and bachelor groups. Historically, colonies reportedly had 100-400 individuals.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. There was a severe population collapse in 1927 due to a disease that killed thousands of Kosrae Flying Foxes. In the 1980s, Kosrae Flying Foxes might have been exported to Guam as food. Population is currently stable but not very large, so catastrophic events such as typhoons are threats. Increasing loss of habitats (especially deforestation of mangroves) could also quickly become a problem because it does not occur in any protected areas. The Kosrae Flying Fox islisted in IUCN’s action plan for flying foxes that recommends improved management through control of hunting, education, increased legal protection, and forest management.
Bibliography. Almeida et al. (2014), Andersen (1912b), Corbet & Hill (1980), Flannery (1995a), Mickleburgh et al. (1992), Nowak (1999), Peters (1883), Rainey & Pierson (1992), Simmons (2005), Temminck (1841), Wiles et al. (2008b).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
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Pteropus ualanus
| Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier 2019 |
Pteropus ualanus
| Peters 1883 |