A new species of Pteralopex (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) from Montane Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Pteralopex pulchra n.sp. is described. It is known from a single specimen collected at 1,230 m on the south slopes of Mount Makarakomburu, Guada1canal, Solomon Islands. It is probably restricted to altitudes in excess of 1,200 m, where it possibly replaces Pteralopex atrata which is restricted to lower elevations. This species pair possibly forms the only example among Solomon Islands mammals of altitudinal replacement. The morphology of P. pulchra n.sp. is intermediate in some respects between that of the two previously known Solomon Islands species (P. anceps and P. atrata), and the Fijian P. acrodonta. Pteralopex pulchra n.sp. is unique however in the possession of extensively black and white mottled wings, bright red eyes and a yellowish venter which contrasts strongly with the blackish back. FLANNERY, T.F., 1991. A new species of Pteralopex (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) from Montane Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Records of the Australian Museum 43(2): 123-129. 123 The first species of the genus Pteralopex to become known was P. atrata, described by Thomas (1888) who based his description upon material collected by c.W. W oodford at Aola, Guada1canal Island, Solomons. These specimens were almost certainly collected near sea level as Woodford (1890) states that he was unable to penetrate far inland during his stay at Aola. In 1909 Anderson described a second and closely related species, P. anceps from Bougainville. Sanbom (1931) subsequently reported P. atrata from Santa Isabel (also known as Ysabel), while Phillips (1968) recorded P. anceps from Choiseul. Figure 1 shows the distribution of these species. The two species were considered to be distinct until Laurie & Hill (1954), then Phillips (1968) treated P. anceps as a subspecies of P. atrata. In 1978 Hill & Beckon described a third species, P. acrodonta, from montane forests on Taveuni, Fiji. They also reconsidered the taxonomic status of the Solomon Island forms, and considered that there were good grounds for the recognition of two distinct species in these islands, P. atrata from Guada1canal and Ysabel, and P. anceps from Bougainville and Choiseul. The new species of Pteralopex described here was discovered during a survey of the mammals of the southwest Pacific region organised by the Australian Museum. It is based upon a single individual whose morphology