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Pteropus
Pteropus (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, East Africa, and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are at least 60 extant species in the genus.
Flying foxes eat fruit and other plant matter, and occasionally consume insects as well. They locate resources with their keen sense of smell. Most, but not all, are nocturnal. They navigate with keen eyesight, as they cannot echolocate. They have long life spans and low reproductive outputs, with females of most species producing only one offspring per year. Their slow life history makes their populations vulnerable to threats such as overhunting, culling, and natural disasters. Six flying fox species have been made extinct in modern times by overhunting. Flying foxes are often persecuted for their real or perceived role in damaging crops. They are ecologically beneficial by assisting in the regeneration of forests via seed dispersal. They benefit ecosystems and human interests by pollinating plants.
Like other bats, flying foxes are relevant to humans as a source of disease, as they are the reservoirs of rare but fatal disease agents including Australian bat lyssavirus, which causes a rabies like illness, and Hendra virus; seven known human deaths have resulted from these two diseases. Nipah virus is also transmitted by flying foxes—it affects more people, with over 100 attributed fatalities. They have cultural significance to indigenous people, with appearances in traditional art, folklore, and weaponry. Their fur and teeth were used as currency in the past. Some cultures still use their teeth as currency today.
The genus name Pteropus, from Ancient Greek 'πτερόν' (pterón), meaning "wing", and 'πούς' (poús), meaning "foot", was coined by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1762. Prior to 1998, genus authority was sometimes given to German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben. Although the Brisson publication (1762) predated the Erxleben publication (1777), thus giving him preference under the Principle of Priority, some authors gave preference to Erxleben as genus authority because Brisson's publication did not consistently use binomial nomenclature. In 1998, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) decided that Brisson's 1762 publication was a "rejected work" for nomenclatural purposes. Despite rejecting the majority of the publication, the ICZN decided to conserve a dozen generic names from the work and retain Brisson as authority, including Pteropus.
The type species of the genus is the Mauritian flying fox, Pteropus niger (described as Vespertilio vampyrus niger by Robert Kerr in 1792). The decision to designate P. niger as the type species was made by the ICZN through their plenary powers over biological nomenclature. The phrase "flying fox" has been used to refer to Pteropus bats since at least 1759.
Flying fox species vary in body weight, ranging from 120–1,600 g (0.26–3.53 lb). Across all species, males are usually larger than females. The large flying fox has the longest forearm length and reported wingspan of any bat species, but some bat species exceed it in weight. Its wingspan is up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), and it can weigh up to 1.1 kg (2+1⁄2 lb). The Indian and great flying foxes are heavier, at 1.6 and 1.45 kg (3+1⁄2 and 3+1⁄4 lb), respectively. Outside this genus, the giant golden-crowned flying fox (genus Acerodon) is the only bat with similar dimensions.
Most flying fox species are considerably smaller and generally weigh less than 600 g (21 oz). Smaller species such as the masked, Temminck's, Guam, and dwarf flying foxes all weigh less than 170 g (6 oz).
The pelage is long and silky with a dense underfur. In many species, individuals have a "mantle" of contrasting fur color on the back of their head, the shoulders, and the upper back. They lack tails. As the common name "flying fox" suggests, their heads resemble that of a small fox because of their small ears and large eyes. Females have one pair of mammae located in the chest region. Their ears are long and pointed at the tip and lack tragi, the outer margin of each ear forming an unbroken ring. The toes have sharp, curved claws. While microbats only have a claw on each thumb of their forelimbs, flying foxes additionally have a claw on each index finger.
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Pteropus
Pteropus (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, East Africa, and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are at least 60 extant species in the genus.
Flying foxes eat fruit and other plant matter, and occasionally consume insects as well. They locate resources with their keen sense of smell. Most, but not all, are nocturnal. They navigate with keen eyesight, as they cannot echolocate. They have long life spans and low reproductive outputs, with females of most species producing only one offspring per year. Their slow life history makes their populations vulnerable to threats such as overhunting, culling, and natural disasters. Six flying fox species have been made extinct in modern times by overhunting. Flying foxes are often persecuted for their real or perceived role in damaging crops. They are ecologically beneficial by assisting in the regeneration of forests via seed dispersal. They benefit ecosystems and human interests by pollinating plants.
Like other bats, flying foxes are relevant to humans as a source of disease, as they are the reservoirs of rare but fatal disease agents including Australian bat lyssavirus, which causes a rabies like illness, and Hendra virus; seven known human deaths have resulted from these two diseases. Nipah virus is also transmitted by flying foxes—it affects more people, with over 100 attributed fatalities. They have cultural significance to indigenous people, with appearances in traditional art, folklore, and weaponry. Their fur and teeth were used as currency in the past. Some cultures still use their teeth as currency today.
The genus name Pteropus, from Ancient Greek 'πτερόν' (pterón), meaning "wing", and 'πούς' (poús), meaning "foot", was coined by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1762. Prior to 1998, genus authority was sometimes given to German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben. Although the Brisson publication (1762) predated the Erxleben publication (1777), thus giving him preference under the Principle of Priority, some authors gave preference to Erxleben as genus authority because Brisson's publication did not consistently use binomial nomenclature. In 1998, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) decided that Brisson's 1762 publication was a "rejected work" for nomenclatural purposes. Despite rejecting the majority of the publication, the ICZN decided to conserve a dozen generic names from the work and retain Brisson as authority, including Pteropus.
The type species of the genus is the Mauritian flying fox, Pteropus niger (described as Vespertilio vampyrus niger by Robert Kerr in 1792). The decision to designate P. niger as the type species was made by the ICZN through their plenary powers over biological nomenclature. The phrase "flying fox" has been used to refer to Pteropus bats since at least 1759.
Flying fox species vary in body weight, ranging from 120–1,600 g (0.26–3.53 lb). Across all species, males are usually larger than females. The large flying fox has the longest forearm length and reported wingspan of any bat species, but some bat species exceed it in weight. Its wingspan is up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), and it can weigh up to 1.1 kg (2+1⁄2 lb). The Indian and great flying foxes are heavier, at 1.6 and 1.45 kg (3+1⁄2 and 3+1⁄4 lb), respectively. Outside this genus, the giant golden-crowned flying fox (genus Acerodon) is the only bat with similar dimensions.
Most flying fox species are considerably smaller and generally weigh less than 600 g (21 oz). Smaller species such as the masked, Temminck's, Guam, and dwarf flying foxes all weigh less than 170 g (6 oz).
The pelage is long and silky with a dense underfur. In many species, individuals have a "mantle" of contrasting fur color on the back of their head, the shoulders, and the upper back. They lack tails. As the common name "flying fox" suggests, their heads resemble that of a small fox because of their small ears and large eyes. Females have one pair of mammae located in the chest region. Their ears are long and pointed at the tip and lack tragi, the outer margin of each ear forming an unbroken ring. The toes have sharp, curved claws. While microbats only have a claw on each thumb of their forelimbs, flying foxes additionally have a claw on each index finger.