{{Short description|Species of bat}} {{speciesbox | name = Small flying fox | image = ZOO Ústí n L - Exotárium - výběh kaloňů 02.jpg | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Tsang, S.M. |date=2020 |title=''Pteropus hypomelanus'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T18729A22081642 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T18729A22081642.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Pteropus | species = hypomelanus | authority = Temminck, 1853 | synonyms = | range_map = Small Flying Fox area.png | range_map_caption = Small flying fox range }}

The '''small flying fox''', '''island flying fox''' or '''variable flying fox''' ('''''Pteropus hypomelanus''''') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae.<ref>Jones, Deborah P., and Thomas H. Kunz. "[https://academic.oup.com/mspecies/article-pdf/doi/10.2307/0.639.1/8071545/639-1.pdf Pteropus hypomelanus]." Mammalian Species (2000): 1-6.</ref> It is found in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines the Solomon Islands, Thailand and Vietnam.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />

==Description== The small flying fox is quite variable in its colouring. The head is usually dark brown but can be yellowish-brown and is paler in the eastern part of the animal's range. The back is tawny-brown and the underparts some shade of buff. The ears are partially furred and the wing membranes are black. The fur is short on the back and medium-length on the underparts. This bat can be distinguished from the rather similar Ryukyu flying fox (''Pteropus dasymallus'') by the fact that its tibia are bare rather than covered with fur.<ref name=ADW>{{cite web |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Pteropus_hypomelanus/ |title=''Pteropus hypomelanus'': variable flying fox |author=Ouillette, R. |year=2006 |work=Animal Diversity Web |access-date=2013-12-09}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== The small flying fox is native to islands in the Indo-Pacific region. Its range includes the Maldives, the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands, Melanesia, the Philippines, Tioman Island, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It is found at altitudes of up to about {{convert|900|m}}. In many parts of its range it roosts in small outlying islands and flies to larger bodies of land to forage at night.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />

==Biology== Small flying foxes feed mostly on the fruit of native and introduced trees but also consume flowers and nectar. The diet includes pawpaws, mangos, jambul, bananas, figs, flowers of the kapok tree (''Ceiba pentandra'') and the banyan, tree and flowers and fruits of cultivated crops. They consume about half their body weight each day.<ref name=ADW/>

These bats become sexually mature at about one year of age. The breeding season varies according to location and the gestation period is about 200 days. A single pup is born which is weaned at about six weeks but remains dependent on its mother for a further four months or so.<ref name=ADW/> In two instances, twins have been documented&mdash;once in 2009 and once in 2017. Both sets of twins were born at Lubee Bat Conservancy in Gainesville, Florida.<ref name="lubee">{{cite web |url=http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Rare-Twins-Born-at-Lubee---and-You-Can-Name-Them-.html?soid=1101831679040&aid=uxDM8XDZeOg |title=Rare Twins Born at Lubee...and You Can Name Them! |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=September 21, 2017 |website=lubee.org |publisher=Lubee Bat Conservancy |access-date=September 21, 2017 |quote=Lubee Bat Conservancy is proud to announce the recent births of several pups, including Variable flying fox twins. This is only the second ever documented case of twins in this species. The first occurred at Lubee in 2009.}}</ref>

The small flying fox is known to be preyed upon by the white-bellied sea eagle, which has been recorded hunting the bats by dropping them into the sea repeatedly.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aziz |first1=S.A. |last2=Chua |first2=M.A.H. |last3=Clements |first3=G.R. |title=Catch and release: Novel predation strategy by white-bellied sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) on island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) in Peninsular Malaysia demonstrates flying fox swimming ability |journal=Journal of Bat Conservation & Research |date=2019 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=64–66 |doi=10.14709/BarbJ.12.1.2019.09|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Conservation status== The small flying fox is rated as being near-threatened by the IUCN. It has a wide range and is generally abundant and faces no major threats as a whole. In some areas it is threatened by deforestation and tourism-related activities and in the Philippines and elsewhere it is hunted for food. It is also regarded as a pest by farmers whose crops are raided.

Populations of small flying foxes are recorded in the urban town of Miagao, Iloilo, Panay Island, Philippines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bats of Miagao |url=https://sulugardenfoundation.org/bats-of-miagao/ |access-date=2026-04-09 |website=Sulu Garden Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Momblan |first=Gail |date=2019-02-11 |title=Iloilo town bat sanctuary eyed as tourist attraction |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1061536 |work=Philippine News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sornito |first=Ime |date=2019-02-12 |title=Miag-ao’s fruit bats as tourist attractions? |url=https://www.panaynews.net/miag-aos-fruit-bats-as-tourist-attractions/ |work=Panay News}}</ref> More than 5,000 bats were recorded by Sulu Garden Foundation in March 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alunan |first=Kim |date=2025-03-22 |title=March 2025 Bat Count |url=https://sulugardenfoundation.org/march-2025-bat-count/ |access-date=2026-04-09 |website=Sulu Garden Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> This initiative was done to provide baseline estimates of the population and assess the threats that these bats face in the island.

==References== <references/>

{{Pteropodidae|P.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q583116}}

Category:Pteropus Category:Bats of South Asia Category:Bats of Southeast Asia Category:Bats of Oceania Category:Bats of Australia Category:Bats of Indonesia Category:Bats of Malaysia Category:Bats of New Guinea Category:Bats of the Philippines Category:Mammals of Papua New Guinea Category:Mammals of the Maldives Category:Mammals of Vietnam Category:Mammals of Western New Guinea Category:Mammals described in 1853 Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot