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
Grey-headed flying fox and pollens of around 187 plant species. These include "Eucalyptus", particularly "Eucalyptus gummifera", "Eucalyptus muellerana", "Eucalyptus globoidea" and "Eucalyptus botryoides", and fruits from a wide range of rainforest trees, including members of the genus "Ficus". These bats are considered sequential specialists, since they feed on a variety of foods. Grey-headed flying foxes, along with the three other Australian flying fox species, fulfill a very important ecological role by dispersing the pollen and seeds of a wide range of native Australian plants. The grey-headed flying fox is the only mammalian nectarivore and frugivore to occupy substantial areas of subtropical rainforests, so