Bonin flying fox

An animal of the mammalian order Chiroptera and family Pteropidae. It is endemic to the Ogasawara Islands and Io Islands, and is a national natural monument. Its head and body length is around 20 cm, and its forearm length is 13-14 cm. It lacks the pale-colored neck spots seen in the Erabu flying fox, and its lower legs and the backs of its hind legs are hairy, and both the upper and lower sides are gray-brown with a mixture of shiny silvery-white hairs that are marbled, and its incisors and molars are larger than those of other similar species. It was once found in large numbers on each island of the Ogasawara Islands, but its population has now decreased significantly.

[Yoshiyuki Mizuko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱翼手目オオコウモリ科の動物。小笠原諸島、硫黄(いおう)列島の特産で、国の天然記念物。頭胴長20センチメートル前後、前腕長13～14センチメートル。エラブオオコウモリにみられる淡色の頸斑(けいはん)を欠き、下腿(かたい)部、後足の背面は有毛、上下面とも灰黒褐色で、光沢がある銀白色の毛を混生し、霜降り状、門歯や臼歯(きゅうし)は近似の他種より大きい。かつては小笠原諸島の各島に多数みられたが、いまでは個体数が著しく少なくなっている。

［吉行瑞子］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例