There is little known about the habitat and ecology of this species. Flannery (1995) observed animals feeding upon unripe mangoes in an old garden. The most recent record was a subadult male captured in September 2015 on the edge of primary forest adjacent to a garden area with fruiting trees, including mangoes, ngali nuts (Canarium indicum), a stem-fruiting fig (Ficus sp.), and coconut palms. A large adult animal had been observed in the same location hanging from the fig in November 2014 (T. Lavery pers. comm). The species is probably dependent on undisturbed, old growth forests, and seems to roost in tree hollows. Its roosting habits likely render it subject to similar hunting and roost destruction threats faced by P. anceps on Bougainville (S. Hamilton pers. comm.), and also make it vulnerable to commercial logging.

This species is restricted mainly to the island of Guadalcanal, and is known from a single skull collected from New Georgia, both in the Solomon Islands. A single specimen previously reported from Santa Isabel has been correctly identified as P. flanneryi (Helgen 2005). The species is known from 0-400 meters, but it likely occurs to 1,000 m asl.

It is not known if the species is present in any protected areas. There is an urgent need to protect any remaining populations of this rare species.