Pteropus tonganus Quoy and Gaimard 1830

Pteropus tonganus Quoy and Gaimard 1830, in: d'Urville, Voy ... de Astrolabe, Zool., 1 (L'Homme, Mamm., Oiseaux): 74.

Type Locality: Tonga Isls, Tongatapu Isl.

Vernacular Names: Pacific Flying Fox.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Pteropus tonganus subsp. tonganus Quoy and Gaimard 1830

Subspecies Pteropus tonganus subsp. basiliscus Thomas 1915

Subspecies Pteropus tonganus subsp. geddiei MacGillivray 1860

Distribution: Karkar Isl (off NE New Guinea) and Rennell Isl (Solomon Isls), south to New Caledonia, east to Cook Isls.

Conservation: CITES – Appendix I. IUCN / SSC Action Plan (1992) – Not Threatened. IUCN 2003 – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: mariannus species group. Includes geddiei; see Sanborn (1931) and Felten and Kock (1972). Karkar Isl population (basiliscus) may actually be a subspecies of conspicillatus (K. Helgen, pers. comm.). It is possible that this species has been transported to some islands by humans; see Flannery (1995 b). Also see Miller and Wilson (1997), Bonaccorso (1998), and Bergmans (2001).