One of the 8 flying foxes on WAnimals
Mammals · Chiroptera · Pteropodidae
Black Flying Fox
Pteropus alecto
Least Concern
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The black flying fox is one of the large fruit bats of Australia and is also found in New Guinea and Indonesia. It has a black coat with a reddish collar on the nape and a wingspan that can approach a metre. It forms noisy daytime camps in mangroves and woodland, increasingly within the cities of northern Australia. It feeds on nectar, pollen and fruit, and travels up to fifty kilometres a night, pollinating and dispersing seeds along the way.
Weight
500 g – 1 kg
Size
22 cm – 28 cm
Life expectancy
15 years
