Christmas Island Flying-fox
Pteropus natalis
Australia's Threatened Species Category
Critically Endangered
Listed since: 31/10/2015
IUCN's Threatened Species Category
Not Listed
Listed since: 0/01/1900
Population trend: 0
Other names: Christmas Island Fruit-bat
Priority Species? No
The Australian government's Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032 selected over 100 priority species derive from consultation with threatened species experts and the wider community. While all species are important, focusing on a limited number of species can help target effort and resources so that outcomes can be achieved, measured and shared.
Description
The Christmas Island Flying-fox is a relatively small bat that is active at night, but also during part of the day. Christmas Island Flying-foxes have tight coloniality and synchronised breeding, with all breeding
females and their dependent young localised in a few small areas during part of the year. They eat a wide range of fruit and nectar from native and introduced plant species.
Threats
Threats to the Christmas Island Flying-fox is habitat loss from phosphate mining and their tight coloniality and synchronised breeding may render the sub-species vulnerable, with all breeding females and their dependent young localised in a few small areas during part of the year. Other flying-foxes are known to suffer massive synchronised losses of foetuses or recently-born young under some conditions of stress, unusual food shortages or heat spells
Quollity Conservation Hub's Vulnerability Score:
4
To help compare the relative vulnerability of different species, we have developed a scoring system based on biological and ecological characteristics that influence a species' ability to survive and recover from environmental change and natural disasters.
The framework is adapted from assessment methods used by conservation experts following the Black Summer bushfires to help identify species most in need of conservation action, research, and recovery funding.
Each species is assessed using a range of factors, including its conservation status, lifespan, reproductive rate, habitat and dietary requirements, ability to disperse or recover after fire, and the number and severity of threats it faces.
In general, the higher a species' score, the greater its overall vulnerability and risk of decline or extinction.
Like all conservation assessments, this scoring system is limited by the information currently available. Many threatened species remain poorly studied and receive limited research funding, meaning some assessments rely on the best available scientific knowledge or information from closely related species. As new research becomes available, scores may be updated to reflect our improved understanding.