Samoan Flying Fox
Pteropus samoensis Peale, 1848
Also calledGewohnlicher Samoa-Flughund (deu) · Roussette des Samoa (fra) · Roussette des ïles Samoa (fra) · Rudawka samoańska (pol) · Samoa-Flughund (deu) · Samoaflygehund (nob) · Samoavleerhond (nld) · Volpe volante delle Samoa (ita) · kaloň samojský (ces) · samoasaartenlenkko (fin) · Самоанская летучая лисица (rus) · ค้างคาวแม่ไก่ซามัว (tha) · サモアオオコウモリ (jpn) · 薩摩亞狐蝠 (zho)
First described in: Mammalia in Repts. U.S. Expl. Surv. vol.8 p.20
The Samoa flying fox or Samoan flying fox (Pteropus samoensis) is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, and Samoa (where it is known as pe'a and pe'a vao). Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
child_taxa
Subspecies:: Subspecies Pteropus samoensis subsp. samoensis Peale 1848 Subspecies Pteropus samoensis subsp. nawaiensis Gray 1870
Order Chiroptera - Family Pteropodidae
conservation
Conservation: CITES – Appendix I. IUCN / SSC Action Plan (1992) and IUCN 2003 – Vulnerable.
Order Chiroptera - Family Pteropodidae
discussion
Discussion: samoensis species group. Includes nawaiensis; see Hill and Beckon (1978) and Banack (2001).
Order Chiroptera - Family Pteropodidae
discussion
COMMENTS: Includes nawaiensis; see Hill and Beckon (1978: 65).
Order Chiroptera
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The Samoan flying fox is a medium-sized bat weighing about 450 grams (16 oz) with a wingspan of about 0.86 metres (2 ft 10 in). It has a fox-like face with a pointed muzzle, a brown body and wings; the fur on its head and shoulders is blond or silvery-grey.
Range & habitat
The Samoan flying fox is native to Fiji, Samoa and American Samoa. Its habitat is primary or secondary moist forest, plantations, agroforest and the vicinity of villages. Unlike most flying foxes, this species roosts alone or in small family groups.
In human culture
The Samoan word for the flying fox fruit bat, pe'a, is also the name of the traditional Samoan male tattoo. In Samoan and Polynesian mythologies, stories, myths, proverbs, and legends are associated with this winged creature. One legend from the island of Savai'i in Samoa is about Nafanua, goddess of war; she was rescued by flying foxes when stranded on an inhospitable island, similar to the goddess, Leutogi.
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Every page naming Pteropus samoensis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 5218659.