Pteropus melanopogon Peters 1867

Pteropus melanopogon Peters 1867, Monatsb. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1867: 330.

Type Locality: Indonesia, Molucca Isls, Amboina.

Vernacular Names: Black-bearded Flying Fox.

Synonyms: Pteropus argentatus Gray 1858; Pteropus phaiops Temminck 1837 .

Distribution: Amboina, Buru, Seram, Banda Isls, Yamdena (= Timor Laut), and adjacent islands (Indonesia). A Sangihe Isl record is erroneous; see Bergmans and Rozendaal (1988).

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

Discussion: melanopogon species group. Does not include sepikensis, here considered a synonym of neohibernicus; see Koopman (1979). I follow Bergmans (2001) in recognizing aruensis and keyensis (often listed as subspecies of melanopogon following Laurie and Hill [1954]) as distinct species pending additional review of this complex. This complex includes several undescribed species (K. Helgen, pers. comm.).