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The large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus, formerly Pteropus giganteus), also known as the greater flying fox, Malayan flying fox, Malaysian flying fox, large fruit bat, kalang, or kalong, is a southeast Asian species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. [3]
As the flying foxes travel large distances, seeds can be deposited up to 20 km (12 mi) from the parent tree. They are particularly important in fragmented forests, as many other frugivores are terrestrial and often confined to forest fragments. Flying foxes have the capability to spread seeds beyond the forest fragments through flight. [60]
The great flying fox has a slightly shorter forearm length, and its wingspan is thus presumed to be lesser as well. [13] The wingspan of the Indian flying fox is up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft), [14] while the giant golden-crowned flying fox has a wingspan of 1.5–1.7 m (4.9–5.6 ft). [12]
Exposure to flying fox blood, urine, or feces cannot cause infections of Australian bat lyssavirus. Since 1994, there have been three records of people becoming infected with it in Queensland—each case was fatal. [135] Flying foxes are also reservoirs of henipaviruses such as Hendra virus and Nipah virus. Hendra virus was first identified in ...
Because Brünnich was attempting to rename the large flying fox in his 1782 publication, his name should not apply to either the large or the Indian flying fox—an older name was in existence, and therefore the large flying fox is P. vampyrus, not P. giganteus; In negating Brünnich's name, Mlíkovský states that the oldest applicable name ...
The great flying fox is the largest bat on the island New Guinea, [10] as well as the whole of Melanesia. [11] Its forearm length ranges from 165–207 mm (6.5–8.1 in), [12] and individuals can weigh up to 1.6 kg (3.5 lb). [3]
The Mariana fruit bat (Pteropus mariannus), also known as the Mariana flying fox, and the fanihi in Chamorro, is a megabat found only in the Mariana Islands and Ulithi (an atoll in the Caroline Islands). [3] Habitat loss has driven it to endangered status, and it is listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Pettigrew suggested that flying foxes, colugos, and primates were all descendants of the same group of early arboreal mammals. The megabat flight and the colugo gliding could be both seen as locomotory adaptations to a life high above the ground. The flying primate hypothesis met resistance from many zoologists.