flying fox
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- Also called:
- fox bat
- Related Topics:
- Old World fruit bat
- Indian flying fox
flying fox, (genus Pteropus), any of about 65 bat species found on tropical islands from Madagascar to Australia and Indonesia and in mainland Asia. Most species are primarily nocturnal. Flying foxes are the largest bats, some attaining a wingspan of 1.5 metres (5 feet) with a head and body length of about 40 cm (16 inches).
Flying foxes are Old World fruit bats (family Pteropodidae) that roost in large numbers and eat fruit. They are therefore a potential pest and cannot be imported into the United States. Like nearly all Old World fruit bats, flying foxes use sight rather than echolocation to navigate, despite the largely nocturnal habit of most species. In contrast to most bat species, flying foxes have eyes with cones, which allow for colour vision, in addition to rods, which allow for shape and pattern recognition and assist in low-light conditions. At least one flying fox species, the Samoan flying fox (Pteropus samoensis), is active primarily during the daytime.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), about half of all flying fox species have declining populations. Of these species, the IUCN classifies 15 as vulnerable and 11 as endangered. Flying foxes were formerly classified in the suborder Megachiroptera, but most researchers now place them in the suborder Yinpterochiroptera, which also contains the superfamily Rhinolophoidea, a diverse group that includes horseshoe bats, trident bats, mouse-tailed bats, and others.