![]() Westcott, unpublished data, cited in Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (2009) National recovery plan for the spectacled flying fox Pteropus conspicillatus. (2005) Mutualistic interactions between the nectar-feeding little red flying fox Pteropus scapulatus (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) and eucalypts: habitat utilisation and pollination. PhD thesis. PhD Thesis, University of New England, Armidale, NSW.īirt, P. (1996) Interactions between the Grey-headed Flying-fox Pteropus poliocephalus (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) and its diet plants - seasonal movements and seed dispersal. Spectacled flying-foxes feed on the fruit of more than a dozen rainforest species for which no other seed dispersers are known and can spread ingested seeds up to 80 km away. They are long-range pollinators, promoting genetic flow between eucalypts and other Myrtaceae at greater distances apart (> 5 km) than most other pollinators. They were subject to large-scale slaughter, with shooting raids on camps and a bounty in many districts to encourage extermination.įlying foresters (also see our conservation page)įlying-foxes play a very important ecological role by pollinating and dispersing the seeds of many native plants. For most of Queensland’s history as a colony and state, flying-foxes were classed as vermin and there were no limits on killing. It is only very recently - since 1994 and from 1974-1985 - that flying-foxes have received any protection under law. ![]() They were listed as ‘vulnerable’ in 2002 after substantial population declines due to habitat destruction, large-scale slaughter and other threats. The Spectacled flying-fox and Grey-headed flying-fox are also protected under federal laws (the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) as threatened species. Little red flying-foxes have the largest range, in western, northern and eastern Australia in coastal and inland areasĪs native mammals, all flying-foxes are protected in Queensland and cannot be harmed or killed unless a permit is issued by the Queensland Government (under the Nature Conservation Act 1992). Black flying-foxes occur across northern Australia and along the east coast down to Sydney. ![]() Spectacled flying foxes live in tropical north Queensland. Grey-headed flying-foxes live in eastern Australia from Mackay to Geelong, and recently also in Adelaide. They roost in large groups on tree branches, rather than in caves or hollows.įour species of flying-fox inhabit mainland Australia and all four live in Queensland (there are also island species). They differ from microbats (little bats) by feeding on nectar and fruit, not insects, and navigating by vision rather than echolocation.
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