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
Australian flying fox die-offs flying fox ("Pteropus poliocephalus") and the black flying fox ("P. alecto"). Where mixed-species colonies are affected the black flying fox suffers substantially higher mortality than the grey-headed flying fox. However, summer temperatures are more extreme within the range of the grey-headed flying fox than within the range of the black flying-fox, and therefore the actual total number of casualties is much higher among grey-headed flying foxes than black flying foxes. Mortality is especially high among dependent young and lactating females, but any demographic category can be affected. Observations in flying fox colonies during extreme heat events have revealed that flying