Pteralopex pulchra

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CHIROPTERA	PTEROPODIDAE

Scientific Name:

Pteralopex pulchra

Species Authority:

Flannery, 1991

Common Name/s:

English

–

Montane Monkey-faced Bat

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered C2a(ii) ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Leary, T., Helgen, K. & Hamilton, S.

Evaluator/s:

Lamoreux, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team), Racey, P.A., Medellín, R. & Hutson, A.M. (Chiroptera Red List Authority)

Justification:
Listed as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct candidate) because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with all individuals in a single subpopulation, and it is likely experiencing a continuing decline. This species has not been recorded since it was first discovered and surveys are needed to confirm its continued existence. Other members of the genus are highly susceptible to deforestation and hunting, and either of these threats could also be operating on this species.

History:

1996	–	Critically Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
1994	–	Endangered (IUCN)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is known from a single specimen collected on the southern slopes of Mount Makarakomburu, Guadacanal in the Solomon Islands. It was recorded at 1,230 m asl (elevational range of 1,200-2,448 comes from Helgen 2005).
Countries:	Possibly extinct: Solomon Islands
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	It is known only from the holotype.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Flannery (1995) recorded the habitat at the collection site as being "primary mossy montane forest with emergent Metrosideros and palms, and an abundant understorey of ferns and climbing bamboo" (p. 242). The species is likely restricted to upland areas.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The threats to this species are not known. It has a restricted range that could be susceptible to a single threat event. The species likely has specific habitat requirements given the dependence of its congeners on large hollow trees as roosts, and it might also share traits that make these species easily hunted.

Major Threat(s):

The threats to this species are not known. It has a restricted range that could be susceptible to a single threat event. The species likely has specific habitat requirements given the dependence of its congeners on large hollow trees as roosts, and it might also share traits that make these species easily hunted.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species is not found in any protected areas. Survey work on the species is urgently needed to confirm its presence. Studies of the natural history of the species and threats faced by it are also needed.

Conservation Actions:

This species is not found in any protected areas. Survey work on the species is urgently needed to confirm its presence. Studies of the natural history of the species and threats faced by it are also needed.

Citation:	Leary, T., Helgen, K. & Hamilton, S. 2008. Pteralopex pulchra. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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