Little red flying fox

Pteropus scapulatus

The little red flying fox is a species of megabat native to northern and eastern Australia. With a weight of 280–530 grams it is the smallest flying fox in mainland Australia .
100,000 Little Red Flying Foxes 100,000 Little Red Flying-foxes return to roost as the sun rises over the tiny outback town of Duaringa. A keystone species of Australia, flying foxes play an ecologically paramount role in the region as forest pollinators. Naturally nomadic, Little Reds follow the flowering eucalypt as it seasonally blossoms across Australia. Australia,Eucalyptus,Geotagged,Little red flying fox,Pteropus scapulatus,australia,bat,flying fox,outback,pteropus

Status

The animals are nomadic and difficult to track, as they tend not to live in urban areas. No accurate method in use currently can estimate the population to determine if the species is holding its own or is in decline. The species is very likely to be affected by the same factors that have seen the grey-headed flying fox and spectacled flying fox listed as threatened, that is, the destruction of foraging areas and roosting habitat.
Rescued Red Flying Foxes  Australia,Geotagged,Little red flying fox,Pteropus scapulatus

Behavior

It has the widest range of all the species, going much further inland than the larger fruit bats. Its diet primarily consists of nectar and pollen of eucalypt blossoms, the pollination of which it is largely responsible. The little red flying fox is nomadic, and can be found in large groups of up to a million individuals. This species gives birth six months later than the other mainland flying fox species, in April and May.

A National Geographic Channel special program documents that the little red flying fox will skim the surface of rivers, then lap the water from their fur; this can put them in danger from being seized by predators such as crocodiles.

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Status: Unknown
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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderChiroptera
FamilyPteropodidae
GenusPteropus
SpeciesP. scapulatus
Photographed in
Australia