# 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.

- **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.

## About

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 ).

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/9d5be912-7d31-439f-af11-0436531f3219
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/40905
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus poliocephalus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/597168533/medium.jpg (Lawrence Hylton, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.