Admiralty flying fox Admiralty flying fox The Admiralty flying fox ("Pteropus admiralitatum") is a species of fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae, the megabats. It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It was described by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1894, based on specimens that were initially collected by the "Challenger" Expedition in 1875. Its species name "admiralitum" is a New Latin rendering of "admiralty", which is in reference to the Admiralty Islands where this species was first documented. The Admiralty flying fox is possibly a species complex of three species, with one species occupying the Admiralty Islands and
Indian flying fox fox, "P. poliocephalus". As the genus "Pteropus" is divided into closely related species groups, the Indian flying fox is placed in the "vampyrus" species group, which also includes the Bonin, Ryukyu, little golden-mantled, Rodrigues, large, Lyle's, Aldabra, Madagascan, Seychelles, and Mauritian flying foxes. There are currently three recognized subspecies of the Indian flying fox: "P. g. ariel" (G. M. Allen, 1908), "P. g. giganteus" (Brünnich, 1782), and "P. g. leucocephalus" (Hodgson, 1835). The Indian flying fox is found across South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, China (Tibet), Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It roosts in large, established colonies