PTEROPODIDAE (Fruit Bats/Flying Foxes)

The Pteropodidae is a large (over 40 genera and over 180 species in total) family of megachiropteran bats.
Subfamilial groupings are uncertain, and even their overall relation to microchiropteran bats has recently been
questioned. Pteropus, (the "flying foxes") with dozens of recognized forms, is the most speciose genus.
Pteropodids are strong flyers and have populated many Old World oceanic islands, extending all the
way eastward to Mangaia in the central Pacific.

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Copyright 2010 Charles H. Smith. All rights reserved.