Samoa flying fox a luxury food item, but a stop was put to that trade when it was listed in Appendix I of CITES in 1990. This made it illegal to export it, and hunting since then has been on a smaller scale and only for domestic use. It is present in some national parks and other protected areas which gives it some measure of protection. The Samoan word for the flying fox fruit bat, "pe'a", is also the name of the traditional Samoan male tattoo. In Samoan and Polynesian mythologies, stories, myths, proverbs, and legends are associated with this winged creature. One
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