Blyth's Flying Fox

Pteropus melanotus is a large fruit bat with a dark brown to blackish body, a paler mantle around the neck and shoulders, and a wingspan that can exceed a meter. Like other flying foxes, it lacks echolocation and relies on keen eyesight and smell to locate food at night, roosting communally in exposed treetop camps by day. As a nocturnal forager on fruit, nectar, and flowers, it functions as a key pollinator and seed disperser across the island forests it inhabits, supporting forest regeneration.

The species occurs on Christmas Island (an Australian territory) and in parts of Indonesia, occupying tropical dry forest, mangroves, coastal wetlands, rocky terrain, and marine coastal/supratidal zones.

Its decline stems from habitat loss due to urban and industrial development, mining and quarrying, and logging, alongside direct hunting and trapping in some areas. Recreational disturbance affects roosting camps, while invasive species and disease introduce additional pressure on already small, geographically isolated populations. Natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, and flooding pose acute risks given the species' restricted island distribution, and expansion of agricultural land adds further habitat pressure.

Conservation attention has focused on monitoring population trends and roost sites, protecting remaining forest habitat within reserves, and researching disease dynamics and threats specific to island bat populations. Legal protections exist in parts of its range, though enforcement and habitat safeguards remain uneven.

The population is classified as Vulnerable with a decreasing trend. Its restricted island range, combined with compounding pressures from habitat loss, hunting, and vulnerability to catastrophic natural events, means the species faces a continued elevated risk of decline without sustained habitat protection and monitoring.