Bismarck masked flying fox

Bismarck masked flying fox
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Pteropus
Species: P. capistratus
Binomial name
Pteropus capistratus
Peters, 1867
Bismarck masked flying fox range
(green — native, brown — vagrant)

The Bismarck masked flying fox (Pteropus capistratus) is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae found in Papua New Guinea and named after the Bismarck Archipelago. It was originally considered a subspecies of Pteropus temminckii before being reassessed in 2001. This species has two subspecies, P. c. capistratus and P. c. ennisae.[2] The species has sometimes been classified as a subspecies of Pteropus temminckii. The IUCN classified it as Near Threatened in 2009, noting that the rate of decline is almost high enough to reclassify the species as Vulnerable.[1]

It is one of the rare species of mammals in which the males can lactate.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 Hamilton, S., Bonaccorso, F., Helgen, K. & Allison, A. (2009). "Pteropus capistratus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 3.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  2. D.E. Wilson & D.M. Reeder, 2005: Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
  3. Bats: A World of Science and Mystery (Hardcover) by M. Brock Fenton, Nancy B. Simmons, p. 168.
  4. Pteropus capistratus, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.


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