One of the 8 flying foxes on WAnimals
Mammals · Chiroptera · Pteropodidae
Spectacled Flying Fox
Pteropus conspicillatus
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The spectacled flying fox is a large fruit-eating bat belonging to the genus Pteropus, whose members are usually known as flying foxes. It lives on the north-east coast of Queensland, Australia, and is also found on several nearby islands, among them New Guinea, Woodlark, the Kiriwina Islands and Halmahera; its natural habitat extends across areas of rainforest and mangrove. The species was classified as of least concern by the IUCN in 2008.
Weight
400 g – 1 kg
Size
22 cm – 24 cm
Lifespan
17 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- In November 2018 a heatwave of more than 42 degrees killed tens of thousands of them in two days in northern Queensland, close to a third of the species' Australian population.
- It is the main seed disperser of the Australian wet tropical rainforest, a World Heritage site: without it, more than a hundred tree species would lose their means of long-distance dispersal.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Tropical rainforest, mangroves and gallery forest of northern Queensland and New Guinea
- Sexual maturity
- 2.1 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 5.9 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus_conspicillatus
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Spectacled Flying Fox — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Black Flying Fox
Pteropus alecto
Grey-headed Flying Fox
Pteropus poliocephalus
Large Flying-fox
Pteropus vampyrus
Greater Shortnosed Fruit Bat
Cynopterus sphinx
Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo
Dendrolagus lumholtzi
Common Phalanger
Phalanger orientalis
How to help
The spectacled flying fox is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 4 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about spectacled flying fox.
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