Large flying fox

}} }} The large flying fox was one of the many mammal species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, receiving the name Vespertilio vampyrus. Its species name "vampyrus" is derived from Slavic "wampir" meaning "blood-sucking ghost or demon: vampire". This name was chosen in reference to its "alleged blood-sucking habits", although it is entirely vegetarian and largely frugivorous. Based on phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA, the closest relative of the large flying fox is the Rodrigues flying fox (Pteropus rodricensis). Because the genus Pteropus is so speciose, it is further subdivided into species groups. The large flying fox is the namesake of the "vampyrus" group, which also includes the following species: • Aldabra flying fox (Pteropus aldabrensis) • Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) • Lyle's flying fox (Pteropus lylei) • Indian flying fox (Pteropus medius) • Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger) • Bonin flying fox (Pteropus pselaphon) • Little golden-mantled flying fox (Pteropus pumilus) • Rodrigues flying fox (Pteropus rodricensis) • Madagascan flying fox (Pteropus rufus) • Seychelles fruit bat (Pteropus seychellensis) ==Description==

The large flying fox is among the largest species of bat. Its forearm length is . The large flying fox's wings are short and somewhat rounded at the tips. This allows them to fly slowly, but with great maneuverability. The wing membranes are only haired near the body. ==Biology and ecology==

This species primarily feeds on flowers, nectar and fruit. When all three food items are available, flowers and nectar are preferred. ==Behavior and life history==

Colonies of large flying foxes fly in a scattered stream. They may fly up to to their feeding grounds in one night. Vocalizations are not made during flight. Large flocks fuse into family or feeding groups upon arrival at feeding grounds. Flying foxes may circle a fruit tree before landing, and usually land on the tips of branches in an upright position, then fall into a head-down position from which they feed. Feeding aggregations tend to be very noisy. Flowering trees form the basis of territories in this species. Territorial behavior includes growling and the spreading of wings. During antagonistic behavior, individuals maintain spacing with wrists/thumbs sparring, bites, and loud vocalizations. When moving to a suitable resting place after landing, an individual may fight with conspecifics along the way. A roosting flying fox is positioned upside down with its wings wrapped up. When it gets too warm, a flying fox fans itself with its wings. Roosting bats are restless until midmorning. Female large flying fox gestations are at their highest between November and January in Peninsular Malaysia, but some births occur in other months. In Thailand, gestation may take place during the same period with young being born in March or early April. Females apparently give birth during April and May in the Philippines, and usually give birth to only one young. For the first days, the mothers carry their young, but leave them at the roost when they go on their foraging trips. The young are weaned by two to three months. ==Range and habitat==

The large flying fox ranges from Malay Peninsula, to the Philippines in the east and Indonesian Archipelago of Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Timor in the south. ==Relationship to humans==

The large flying fox is hunted for bushmeat. In Peninsular Malaysia, 1,756 hunting licenses were issued for the large flying fox from 2002–2006. In total, these hunting licenses permitted the hunting of 87,800 large flying foxes, or about 22,000 each year. Based on population modeling, the loss of the estimated 22,000 large flying foxes annually is unlikely to be sustainable. A 2009 study predicted extinction of the Peninsular Malaysian population within 6–81 years if 22,000 individuals are lost to hunting each year. The large flying fox is a natural reservoir of the Nipah virus. It is generally considered as the reservoir that led to the 1998 Malaysian outbreak, which was the first emergence of the disease in humans and pigs. In a study of seventeen large flying foxes, Nipah virus was only isolated from one individual, which was at the time of capture. However, in maintaining the bats in quarantine for one year, researchers found that the bat was negative for antibodies against Nipah virus for the first eleven months, but was then seropositive once more. Two other bats—from which the Nipah virus was never detected—also registered as seropositive at points within the year. This suggested that the Nipah virus can recrudesce in the large flying fox, or maintain itself after periods of remission. The virus also recrudesces in humans, with humans becoming fatally ill with the disease up to four years after first exposure. ==Conservation==

As of 2022, the large flying fox is evaluated as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It meets the criteria for this designation because it is likely experiencing significant population decline. The bushmeat trade is resulting in unsustainable harvest of this species. Additionally, it is experiencing habitat loss through deforestation. One threat to the large flying fox is habitat destruction. Manual bat counts in the urban roosts of Miagao are conducted regularly by Sulu Garden Foundation to provide baseline estimates of the population and assess the threats that these bats face in the island ==References==