Ceram fruit bat

Ceram fruit bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Pteropus
Species:
P. ocularis
Binomial name
Pteropus ocularis
Peters, 1867[2]
Ceram fruit bat range

The Ceram fruit bat or Seram flying fox (Pteropus ocularis) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the mountainous forests of two Maluku islands, Buru and Seram, including the Manusela National Park on Seram. They were once present on the nearby Ambon Island, but probably not anymore. The habitat has an area of less than 20,000 km2, and is decreasing due to logging. For this reason, and because of hunting by the local population, these species are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN since 1996.[3]

Ecological role

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The Ceram fruit bat plays an important ecological role in the areas they inhabit because they act as seeds and pollen dispensers. They have been recorded interacting with 59% of forest tree species that provide an abundance of resources.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Tsang, Susan; Mammalogy, City College of New York Department of; History), American Museum of Natural (2016-01-18). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Pteropus ocularis. pp. e.T18745A115145424. doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-3.rlts.t18745a22085054.en.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ Wilhelm Peters, 1867. Monatsb. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1867:326.
  3. ^ Hutson, A.M., Helgen, K., Schlitter, D. & Suyanto, A. 2008.0. Pteropus ocularis. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4
  4. ^ Almeida, Francisca C.; Giannini, Norberto P.; Simmons, Nancy B.; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2014-08-01). "Each flying fox on its own branch: A phylogenetic tree for Pteropus and related genera (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 77: 83–95. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.03.009. hdl:11336/12485. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 24662680.