Pteralopex is a genus of large megabats in the family Pteropodidae.[1] Species in this genus are commonly known as "monkey-faced bats". They are restricted to Solomon Islands rain forests in Melanesia, and all species are seriously threatened, being rated as either endangered or critically endangered by IUCN.[2] Two species, P. taki and P. flanneryi, have been described since 2000.

Pteralopex
Guadalcanal monkey-faced bat (Pteralopex atrata)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Subfamily: Pteropodinae
Genus: Pteralopex
Thomas, 1888
Type species
Pteralopex atrata
Thomas, 1888
Species

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Species

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The Fijian monkey-faced bat, formerly placed in this genus, has recently been transferred to the monotypic Mirimiri.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ IUCN (2008). 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed 2008-12-17.
  3. ^ a b Helgen, K. M. (2005). Systematics of the Pacific monkey-faced bats (Chiroptera : Pteropodidae), with a new species of Pteraloplex and a new Fijian genus. Systematics and Biodiversity, 3(4):433-453.
  4. ^ Parnaby, H. E. (2002). A taxonomic review of the genus Pteralopex (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae), the Monkey-faced Bats of the South-western Pacific. Australian Mammalogy. 23: 145-162.