Samoa Flying Fox
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Samoa Flying-fox)
| Samoa Flying Fox | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Skeleton of a Samoa Flying Fox | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Pteropodidae |
| Genus: | Pteropus |
| Species: | P. samoensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Pteropus samoensis Peale, 1848 |
|
 |
|
| Samoa Flying Fox range | |
The Samoa Flying Fox or Samoan Flying Fox (Pteropus samoensis) is a species of megabat in the Pteropodidae family. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, and Samoa (where it is known as pe'a and pe'a vao). Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Samoan word for the flying fox fruit bat is pe'a which is also the name of the traditional Samoan male tattoo.
[edit] Samoan mythology
In Samoan mythology and Polynesian mythology, there are stories, myths, proverbs and legends associated with this winged creature.[1] One legend from the island of Savai'i in Samoa is about Nafanua, goddess of war, rescued by flying foxes when she was stranded on an inhospitable island.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b [1], Inside out: literature, cultural politics, and identity in the new Pacific by Vilsoni Hereniko, Rob Wilson, p. 402
[edit] Source
- Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996. Pteropus samoensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 July 2007.
