Indian flying fox flying foxes engage in oral sex, with males performing cunnilingus on females. The duration of oral sex is positively associated with the duration of copulation, suggesting that its purpose is to make the female more receptive to copulation and to increase the male's chances of fertilizing an ovum. Like other fruit bats, the Indian flying fox may be a natural reservoir for diseases including certain henipaviruses and flaviviruses. These can prove fatal to humans and domestic animals. Indian flying foxes in India and Bangladesh have tested positive for Nipah virus, a type of henipavirus. Due to human encroachment into their
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