Grey-headed Flying-fox
Pteropus poliocephalus
They are keystone pollinators, capable of dispersing seeds over 50km in a single night, maintaining genetic diversity in forests.
- Scientific name
- Pteropus poliocephalus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Chiroptera › Pteropodidae › Pteropus
- IUCN Red List status
- Vulnerable
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, and urban parklands.
- Diet
- Nectar, pollen, and native fruits from Eucalypts, Melaleucas, and Banksias.
- Range
- Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia
- Size
- Wingspan up to 1 meter; weight 600-1000g.
- Lifespan
- 15-20 years
- Active
- nocturnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss, extreme heat stress events, and entanglement in netting or barbed wire.
- Safe to approach?
- Defensive. Never handle bats; they can carry Australian Bat Lyssavirus. If you find one injured, call a professional wildlife rescue group. If bitten or scratched, wash the wound thoroughly and seek immediate medical help for post-exposure treatment.
The grey-headed flying fox ( Pteropus poliocephalus ) is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus Pteropus : the little red flying fox ( P. scapulatus ), the spectacled flying fox ( P. conspicillatus ), and the black flying fox ( P. alecto ).
Photo: Lawrence Hylton, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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