Aru flying fox [SEP] parent taxon
Aru flying fox
The Aru flying fox ("Pteropus aruensis") is a Critically Endangered species of megabat found in the Aru Islands in Indonesia. It was described by Wilhelm Peters in 1867. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the black-bearded flying fox. The species is poorly known, and has not been encountered since the 19th century. It is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN and is listed on CITES appendix II.
Taxonomy.
As the Pteropus genus is quite speciose, it is further
divided into species groups. The Aru flying fox is placed in the "livingstonii" species group.Other members of this species group include:
- Livingstone's fruit bat, "P. livingstonii"
- Black-bearded flying fox, "P. melanopogon"
- Kei flying fox, "P. keyensis"
There is ongoing debate about whether the Aru flying fox is a distinct species. Some believe that it is a subspecies of the black-bearded flying fox, while others believe that it is distinct enough to