Spectacled Flying Fox
Pteropus Conspicillatus

Status: Vulnerable

Size:
Head and Body Length
22cm-24cm

Forearm Length
15-18cm

Weight
Up to 1kg

Description:

Only found in Far North Queensland, New Guinea and some offshore islands, limited in distribution due to loss and fragmentation of their rainforest habitat. Persecution by humans and death caused by man-made structures like powerlines and barbed-wire fences as well as poisoning.
They have several camps in and around the cities like Cairns and Port Douglas.

There is only an estimated 194,000 left in the wild, living in large camps called colonies where over a thousand individual bats may live together.

They are easily identified by their almost black fur and distinctive pale fur around the eyes and neck.
They may also be refered to as the Spectacled Fruit Bat.

The Spectacled Flying Fox is a keystone species, playing a vital role in pollination and seed dispersal, ensuring the continued biodiversity of the rainforest.

Spectacled Flying Foxes have a maximum lifespan of 15 in the wild, though can be doubled in captivity.

Little Red Flying Fox
Pteropus Scapulatus

Status: Commom

Size:
Head and Body Length
19cm-23cm

Forearm Length
12cm-15cm

Weight
Up to 600g

Description:

The Red Flying Fox is the smallest of the Flying Foxes and the only one that is nomadic, with the other species less capable of dealing with enviromental differences. They have the widest distribution in Australia, across Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Victoria.
With their main diet consisting of nectar from blossoms, the Little Reds follow the flowering trees around the contry. Playing a vital role in the pollination between forests.

Little Reds are very social, living in large colonies, when roosting, several individuals will cuddle together, occasionally causing branches to snap under the combined weight of the huddle. They spend a couple months in each site before moving on, often sharing roosting trees with other flying foxes like the Spectacles.

Because of their diet, they are not such a large pest to orchard owners, when there are not enough blossums available, they will eat leaves and sap from the trees. Insects are occasionally eaten.

Grey Headed Flying Fox
Pteropus Poliocephalus

Status: Vulnerable

Size:
Head and Body Length
23cm-28cm

Forearm Length
13cm-18cm

Weight
Up to 1kg

Description:

Grey Headed Flying Foxes live in the coastal regions of New South Wales and Victoria, and as far north as Brisbane in Queensland.
Because of it's more southern distribution compared to the other species, the Grey's have a thicker coat and fur on their legs, which is otherwise bare on it's other flying fox relatives. It's distinguised by it's grey and white fur and ginger/red neck fur.

The Greys, like the other flying foxes, has a main diet of nectar and fruit. Favouring native figs and palm, though spending a lot of time licking the nectar from eucalypts and other flowing trees.

This species, like the Spectacled, are under pressure from human persecution and habitat destruction. As they also have roosting sites in and around the cities, making them unpopular with house owners.

The Grey is also known bu Sappu or Epauletted Flying Fox.

Black Flying Fox
Pteropus Alecto

Status: Common

Size:
Head and Body Length
24cm-26cm

Forearm Length
15cm-18cm

Weight
Up to 1kg

Description:

Black Flying Foxes have a wide distribution across coastal regions in Western Australia around to North New South Wales. Like the other Flying Foxes, it eats nectar and has adapted to survive in a variety of enviroments across it's distribution, prefering blossoms from the eucalypts and paperbarks.
They are important pollinators for the trees they visit
Though in times of wild foot shortage, Blacks will eat from mango orchards, making enemies of the farmers, resulting in shootings and other crop protection measures by humans to kill or relocate the bats.

Black flying Foxes are easily identified as they are the only flying fox to be all black, though occasionally can have some reddish fur around the back of the neck.
This species if the largest of the flying foxes.
Like the others, they are very social, living in large colonies of thousands.


Their other common names are the Black or Blackish Fruit Bat of the Gould's Fruit Bat.