Monday 21 April 2008

Lyle's Flying Fox (Pteropus lylei)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Pteropus ("wing footed") lylei (named for naturalist Charles Lyle)
Seven Lyle's Flying Fox (Pteropus lyleiat Siem Reap, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 320g  /  Length: 24cm  /  Wingspan: 90cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

A species of flying fox restricted to the Gulf of Thailand, these huge bats are fructivores and feed on numerous species of trees that humans also eat including mango, cashew, dragonfruit, tamarind and others.  This can unfortunately put it into conflict with farmers who wish to protect their crops.  They are also threatened with being eaten as bushmeat in parts of their range.  This particular colony probably has one of the cushiest possible locations to protect it from such threats though - right in central Siem Reap where it is something of a minor tourist attraction.  The biometric dimensions of this species are a little hard to track down, as I've found some wildly varying alternatives.

Related Species:
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Pteropus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -
CAMBODIA - Khmer - ?
 A locally common resident.
 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: A large colony present in the Royal Gardens aSiem Reap

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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