A taxonomic review of the Genus Pteralopex (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae), the monkey-faced bats of the Southwestern Pacific

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Abstract

Morphological variation in the genus Pteralopex is reviewed to evaluate species limits and diagnostic criteria. Five species are recognised: P. atrata and P. pulchra from Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; P. anceps from Bougainville and Buka Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Choiseul and Isabel Islands, Solomon Islands; and P. acrodonta from Taveuni, Fiji. A new species is described from New Georgia and Vangunu Islands, Solomon Islands. It resembles P. pulchra but differs in dental, cranial and pelage characters. A number of criteria previously considered diagnostic for P. anceps are shown to be invalid. The new species faces a high extinction risk from logging operations and pressure from expanding human populations, and an IUCN threat category of 'Critically Endangered' is proposed. All Pteralopex species face a high risk of extinction and conservation measures such as habitat protection are urgently required.

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Parnaby, H. E. (2001). A taxonomic review of the Genus Pteralopex (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae), the monkey-faced bats of the Southwestern Pacific. Australian Mammalogy, 23(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM01145

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