171. Rennell Flying Fox Pteropus rennelli French: Roussette de Rennell / German: Rennell-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Rennell Taxonomy. Pteropus remnelli Troughton, 1929, “Rennell Island, situated about 90 miles [= 145 km] south-westward of San Christoval Island [= San Cristobal Island], Eastern Solomons [= Solomon Islands].” Pteropus rennelli is in the samoensis species group and allied to P. cognatus. Monotypic. Distribution. E Solomon Is (Rennell). Descriptive notes. Head-body 145- 185 mm (tailless), ear 23-25 mm, hindfoot 24-39 mm, forearm 95-128 mm; weight 179 g (mean). Muzzle is short and narrow; rhinarium is black, with short tubular nostrils; irises are reddish brown; and ears are comparatively long, well exposed, and narrowly rounded at tips. Face 1s blackish gray, grading to smoke-gray toward crown. Crown and sides of head are lighter than back. Mantle is shining ocherous tawny, washed with pale tawny olive and deepening to cinnamon-brown on sides of neck. Hairs on back are adpressed and overall tone between dark and mummy brown, with pale auburn and buffy hair tips and admixture of grayish hairs. Rump is lighter buff than middle of back. Tibia is very sparsely furred above and entirely naked below. Chest and belly are dark brown, darker toward center due to intermingling of blackish brown hairs. Wing membranes are black. Skull is typical pteropine, with comparatively long and narrow rostrum, strong sagittal and nuchal crests, and thick and wide zygomatic arches. Mandible is thick, coronoid is large, and angle is well marked. Dentition is heavy, tooth rows are nearly parallel, and M, and M? are reduced. Habitat. Primary and secondary forests and agroforests. Food and Feeding. Diet of the Rennell Flying Fox is presumably composed of fruit and flower products. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. Rennell Flying Foxes are crepuscular and nocturnal and roost among foliage in lower canopies of large trees. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Rennell Flying Foxes roost alone Or in pairs. Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Extent of occurrence of the Rennell Flying Fox is small (984 km?), and it is continuing to decline from habitat disturbance via commercial logging and mining. Bibliography. Flannery (1995a), Lavery (2017j), Troughton (1929b).

Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, pp. 16-162 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 152, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815