Pteropodidae Gray, 1821

Wiantoro, Sigit, Flannery, Tim F., Brown, Dan, Armstrong, Kyle N. & Helgen, Kristofer M., 2023, The mammal fauna of Kofiau Island, off western New Guinea, Records of the Australian Museum 75 (5), pp. 653-662 : 657-658

Pteropodidae Gray, 1821

Nyctimene sp. cf. albiventer (Gray, 1863) . This taxon represents a species complex and requires systematic revision ( Helgen, 2007; Aplin & Armstrong, 2021). It has been recorded on Salawati, Waigeo and Batanta in the Raja Ampats, as well as on Gebe, Halmahera, New Guinea and nearby islands ( Flannery, 1995). It was recorded during the 2011 survey but was not encountered in 2019. However, a photograph of Nyctimene albiventer was recognized by Josias (Kepala Kampong), who commented that it roosted in foliage on Kofiau.

Paranyctimene raptor Tate, 1942 . Seven individuals of Paranyctimene were captured during the 2011 survey, but the taxon was not recorded in 2019. The genus is widespread below around 1,000 m in elevation in New Guinea and has been recorded from Salawati and Waigeo in the Raja Ampat group ( Wiantoro, 2011). The two currently recognized species of Paranyctimene , P. raptor and P. tenax , are difficult to distinguish ( Bergmans, 2001).

Macroglossus minimus (Geoffroy, 1810) . This is an extremely widespread species of blossom bat, being recorded from Thailand and Vietnam through to the Solomon Islands and Australia. It is one of the most commonly mistnetted species in lowland Melanesia. It was recorded from the Boo Islands near Kofiau by Kompanje & Moeliker (2001). This species was captured in a mistnet in the 2011 survey. In 2019, between 6.30 and 7.00 pm, blossom bats probably representing both Macroglossus and Syconycteris (which were not possible to distinguish in the spotlight) were present in abundance, feeding on the blossoms of a Syzygium that was growing on an islet just south of Kofiau. Feeding frequency dropped from its initial high rate by around 6.50 pm.

Syconycteris australis (Peters, 1867) . This species is distributed in eastern Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, as well as on Salawati and Batanta in the Raja Ampat group, and on Halmahera, Gebe, Seram, and Buru in the Moluccas ( Flannery, 1995). This species was captured in a mistnet during the 2011 survey and probably sighted by spotlight feeding on a flowering Syzygium growing on an islet just south of Kofiau, in 2019.

Dobsonia beauforti Bergmans, 1975 . This species is endemic to the Raja Ampat group. It occurs on Batanta, Gebe, Salawati, Gag and Waigeo, and is possibly present on Misool ( Mildenstein, 2016). It is otherwise known only from the Biak-Supiori group in Cenderawasih Bay. It has been recorded roosting in caves, and also under fallen logs ( Flannery, 1995). It was captured in a mistnet in the 2011 survey. In 2019 around a dozen individuals likely to be this species were seen emerging from the forest in the vicinity of the flowering Syzygium, before flying at low elevation (2–3 m) towards another islet.

Rousettus amplexicaudatus (Geoffroy, 1810) . This species has a wide distribution, from Myanmar through to Indonesia in southeast Asia, and on to New Guinea and satellite islands, eastwards to the Solomon Islands ( Flannery, 1995). During the 2011 survey, this species was captured. In 2019, a few individuals, likely to be this species, were observed flitting around a flowering Syzygium growing on an offshore islet.

Pteropus chrysoproctus Temmick, 1837 . Otherwise known only from the north and central Moluccan islands of Gebe, Obi, Buru and Seram and satellite islands, including Ambon, Gorong, and Pulau Panjang ( Flannery, 1995; Tsang, 2016). A single medium-sized flying-fox with a yellowish mantle, identified as this species, was seen flying parallel to the coast at an elevation of about 10 m in the channel between the islet off the south coast and the main island of Kofiau. This species was first recorded on Kofiau over a century ago: the only museum specimen of a mammal previously reported from Kofiau is a single specimen of Pteropus chrysoproctus in the Naturalis Museum in Leiden, RMNH 38000, an adult female, mounted skin with skull. Matschie (1899: 14) and Jentink (1887) referred to the locality for this specimen as “Koffian”, and Andersen (1912: 261, 263) interpreted this as Keffing (= Seram Rei), an island in the Seram Laut group. However, according to labels associated with RMNH 38000 (an adult female, mounted skull and skin), the specimen was indeed collected on Kofiau by D. S. Hoedt in 1867 (or perhaps actually his assistant D. Hokum— Ripley, 1959) during a bird-collecting trip, and letters from Hoedt in the Leiden archives confirm the validity of this record (C. Smeenk, in litt.). There is thus no confirmed record of P. chrysoproctus from Seram Rei.