Phyllonycteris major
– Extinct
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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CHIROPTERA
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Family:
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PHYLLOSTOMIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Phyllonycteris major
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Species Authority:
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Anthony, 1917
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Common Name/s:
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| English | — | PUERTO RICAN FLOWER BAT |
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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EX ver 2.3 (1994)
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Year Assessed:
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1996
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Annotations:
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Needs updating
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Assessor/s:
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre
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Justification:
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MacPhee and Flemming (1999) consider this species to have become extinct before 1500 AD. The species is known only from fossil remains found in Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles. P. major may be removed from the Red List on this basis, however, the matter has been referred to the relevant Specialist Group for a decision.
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History:
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| 1988 | - | Extinct? (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988) |
| 1990 | - | Extinct? (IUCN 1990) |
| 1994 | - | Extinct (Groombridge 1994) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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This species is known only from remains found in cave deposits in Puerto Rico.
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Countries:
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Regionally extinct:
Puerto Rico
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Population
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Population:
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The remains of the species are now thought to date from the late Pleistocene.
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Habitat and Ecology
Threats
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Threats:
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P. major apparently disappeared as a consequence of habitat destruction following human invasion of Antigua about 3,000 years ago.
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