Large Palau flying fox

The soft hair flying fox or Palau flying fox ( Pteropus pilosus ) is an extinct flying fox from the Palau Islands ( Caroline ).

Features

This species is known only from two specimens that were collected prior to 1874 on the Palau Islands. The pickled in alcohol holotype, a young male, was originally located in Godeffroy Museum in Hamburg and later passed into the possession of the Natural History Museum in London on. The skull was removed for study purposes and is heavily broken that he can not contribute more to the explanation of this individual. The soft hair flying fox was closely related to the Bonin flying fox ( Pteropus pselaphon ). With him, however, the first incisor and second premolar were longer, the fur is much shorter and shin and forearm covered less thick with fur. There are only the dimensions of the holotype known: The wingspan is 60 inches, the forearm length 151.5 mm, the tibial length 63 mm and the ears length 25.5 mm. The second incisor is three times ( the Bonin flying fox 2.5 times ) as large as the first. The first premolar is twice as large as the third molar. The approximate length of the hair coat on his back is 20 mm ( the Bonin flying fox 30 mm). Back and rump are chocolate brown and conspicuous speckled with long, shiny whitish-gray or beige - gray hair. Chest, abdomen and flanks are lighter colored than the upper side, with the colors between Kassler Brown Brown and Mars varies. The coat the bottom is thick interspersed with long, coarse, yellow-brown hair. Coat and mind are deep yellow-brown. On the sides of the neck the color changes into a brown smoked pork into a chocolate brown and yellowish neck. The jacket is something the neck and sides of the neck are thicker sprinkled with coarse, yellow-brown hair. The top center of the head is golden brown. Forehead, upper sides of the head, sides of head, chin and throat are dark brown Kassler, interspersed with thick yellow-brown or gray- white hair.

Extinction

Extensive Search for this type failed in 1931. Why the soft hair flying fox extinct, is still not entirely clear, especially since the Flughundart Pteropus pelewensis still exists on Palau. The main reason could possibly have been the over-hunting by the Palau Islanders.