Pteropus vampyrus

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Eutheria
Ordo: Chiroptera
Subordo: Megachiroptera
Familia: Pteropodidae
Subfamilia: Pteropodinae
Tribus: Pteropodini
Subtribus: Pteropodina
Genus: Pteropus
Species: Pteropus vampyrus
Subspecies: P. v. edulis - P. v. lanensis - P. v. natunae - P. v. pluton - P. v. sumatrensis - P. v. vampyrus

Name

Pteropus vampyrus Linnaeus, 1758

Type locality: Indonesia, Java.

References

* Linnaeus. 1758. Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1: 31.
* Conservation status: IUCN Red List
* Pteropus vampyrus Report on ITIS

Distribution

* Vietnam, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Philippines, Sumatra, Java, and Lesser Sunda Islands, adjacent small islands including Anak Krakatau

Vernacular names
Bahasa Melayu: Keluang Besar
Deutsch: Kalong
English: Large Flying Fox
Nederlands: Kalong

------------

The Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus), also known as the Greater Flying Fox, kalang or kalong, is a species of bat in the Pteropodidae family.

It is found in Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

Like the other members of the genus Pteropus, or the Old World Fruit Bats, it feeds exclusively on fruits. It is noted for being the largest member of the bat family by wingspan, which reaches six feet. It, as with all other Old World fruit bats, lacks the ability to echolocate. It should not be confused with Acerodon jubatus which is also large.

A recent update by the IUCN has listed the species as Near Threatened and mentioned its near-vulnerable status with the following reasons[1]

"Listed as Near Threatened because this species is in significant decline (but at a rate of probably less than 30% over ten years or three generations) because it is being over-harvested for food over much of its range, and because of ongoing degradation of its primary forest habitat, making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable under criterion A."

References

1. ^ http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/18766/0/full

* Hutson, A.M., Racey, P.A. (Chiroptera Red List Authority) & Cox, N. (Global Mammal Assessment Team). Pteropus vampyrus. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 April 2009.