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
Black-bearded flying fox Black-bearded flying fox The black-bearded flying fox ("Pteropus melanopogon") is an endangered species of megabat in the genus "Pteropus". It is endemic to Indonesia, found on the islands of Ambon, Buru, Seram, Banda, and Yamdena. Currently considered monotypic, it formerly included the Aru flying fox and Kei flying fox as subspecies. It was described in 1867 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters based off an individual in the collection of Hermann Schlegel. Its species name comes from the New Latin melanin, which is derived from Ancient Greek "mélas", meaning "black", and Ancient Greek pṓgōn, meaning "beard". As the genus "Pteropus" is