The Christmas Island flying fox or Christmas Island fruit bat, as the name suggests, is a flying fox endemic to Christmas Island. It is unclear if it should be considered a distinct species (Pteropus natalis), or a subspecies of the black-eared flying fox (P. melanotus natalis). It may descend from a population of island flying foxes from Pulau Panjang near Java.
The Christmas Island flying fox is medium-sized, averaging 400 g (14 oz).[4] It has mainly black fur, but slight variations exist. It gives birth to one pup (generally during the wet season from December to March), which can fly by five or six months, and reaches sexual maturity by 27 or 28 months, which is one of the slowest maturation times of any bat.[4] Life expectancy is thought to be 6 to 12 years. It forages across the island for fruit and nectar, and, being one of two animals on the island to do so, is likely a keystone species, important in seed dispersal and pollination. Unlike most other bats, it often starts foraging a few hours before sunset (partial diurnality).
Due to human activity, it is the sole remaining native mammal species on the island. The population has gone into sharp decline, reduced by 66–75% between 1984 and 2006, and by 35–39% from 2006 to 2012. Causes of the decline likely include development of the island, invasive species, and phosphate mining and resultant cadmium poisoning.[5] The species is considered critically endangered,[6] and if the population trend is maintained, Christmas Island flying foxes are likely to become extinct in the near future.[7]
^Cite error: The named reference IUCN2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Thomas, Oldfield (1887). "Report on a zoological collection made by the officers of H.M.S. 'Flying Fish' at Christmas Island. I. Mammalia". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1887. Academic Press, [etc.]: 511–14.
^Cite error: The named reference MSW3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference Todd2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference EWG2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference SPRAT2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Geyle, Hayley M.; Woinarski, John C. Z.; Baker, G. Barry; Dickman, Chris R.; Dutson, Guy; Fisher, Diana O.; Ford, Hugh; Holdsworth, Mark; Jones, Menna E.; Kutt, Alex; Legge, Sarah; Leiper, Ian; Loyn, Richard; Murphy, Brett P.; Menkhorst, Peter (2018-04-20). "Quantifying extinction risk and forecasting the number of impending Australian bird and mammal extinctions". Pacific Conservation Biology. 24 (2): 157–167. doi:10.1071/PC18006. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30109156. ISSN 2204-4604.
and 23 Related for: Christmas Island flying fox information
The ChristmasIslandflyingfox or ChristmasIsland fruit bat, as the name suggests, is a flyingfox endemic to ChristmasIsland. It is unclear if it should...
Pteropus natalis (ChristmasIslandflyingfox) is classified as critically endangered. The ChristmasIsland shrew, once abundant on the island, has been very...
pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi) has not been seen since 2009. The ChristmasIslandflyingfox (Pteropus melanotus natalis), the only other endemic mammal,...
Large-eared flyingfox, Pteropus macrotis - Boigu Island in the Torres Strait and New Guinea Black-eared flyingfox, Pteropus natalis - ChristmasIsland; the...
This article is a list of Christmas episodes of regular United States television series. 21 Jump Street: "Christmas in Saigon" (1987) Alias: "Spirit"...
(1995) A Hollywood Christmas (1996) Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years (1997) Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997)...
hours on Christmas Eve. He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his workshop, and with the aid of flying reindeer...
concluding in May. Cast Away was released on December 22, 2000, by 20th Century Fox in North America and DreamWorks Pictures in its international markets. It...
extinction soon after discovery by European settlers. Island creatures are usually endemic to only that island, and that limited range and small population can...
The Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial free-to-air television network owned and operated by the Fox Corporation. Though it was officially...
January 1782 Flying towards the north end of the island, looking down part of the west or Caribbean coast Chief Justice of the Leeward Islands Culture of...
problems for both of them (e.g. Daffy Duck in The High and the Flighty or a fox in Fox-Terror). In the 1958 short Feather Bluster, the prank feud has been passed...
Shearer. Fox called him back for Untamed (1955) and Warwick Films used him in Safari (1956) with Victor Mature. Justin had a good role in Fox'sIsland in the...
dubbed the "Queen of Christmas" for the enduring popularity of her Christmas music, particularly the 1994 song "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which is...
Margate, 28 May 1928) First London role, a pirate in Treasure Island (Strand Theatre, Christmas 1929) Touring, plus Playhouse Oxford and Festival Cambridge...
Retrieved 2017-02-28. "Melissa and Joey: Episode Info > A New Kind of Christmas". MSN Entertainment, TV.MSN.com. Microsoft. Archived from the original...
(animated) Muppet Treasure Island Anastasia (animated) Babes in Toyland (animated) Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (animated) Cabaret Neiges...
highest-ever broadcast premiere ratings with the 2014 original movie Christmas Under Wraps, starring Candace Cameron Bure, which was watched by 5.8 million...
Global Information
