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| Subspecies: | Unknown |
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| Est. World Population: | |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Least Concern |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
| Tail Length: | |
| Shoulder Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Top Speed: | |
| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
| Litter Size: | |
| Gestation Period: | |
Habitat:
This species has been recorded roosting in many caves and tunnels. Colony sizes range from dozens to several thousand individuals. The Balek Wildlife Sanctuary in Madang Province (Papua New Guinea) contains roosts with several thousand animals (Bonaccorso 1998). Females are presumed to give birth to one or two young annually. It forages mostly within forest.
Range:
It extends from Indonesia to the Solomon Islands. In Indonesia, it is found in the Schouten Islands (Yapen), West Papua Province (Sinery et al. 2020), and northern areas of Papua Province adjacent to Papua New Guinea. In Papua New Guinea it is found either side of the central cordillera, the Trobriand Islands (Kiriwina), the D'Entrecasteaux Islands (Normanby), Lousiade Archipelago (Misima), Manus Island, the Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, New Ireland, Emirua, Mussau; Armstrong et al. 2015), and Bougainville. It is also found on most of the Solomon Islands, the Santa Cruz Islands (Nendo), and Vanuatu (islands of Espiritu Santo and Malekula) (Bonaccorso 1998; Flannery 1995a,b). The lack of survey effort is likely to be the reason why it appears absent from the Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia. Records are mostly from lowland areas but reach as high as c. 1,000 m asl elevation (D. Wright unpubl. data).
Conservation:
A significant population of this species is present in the Balek Wildlife Sanctuary, and it has been recorded from Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area (D. Wright pers. comm.). Key conservation actions for this species are the protection of known roosting sites in caves, and the identification and protection of additional important roosting sites. Broadscale protection of forests will also help maintain population size in this species. Although it is listed here as Least Concern, if further genetic work shows the existence of distinct species or evolutionary significant units in areas where population size and extent of occurrence could be limited, then reassessment would be required. In the meantime, any development proposal that presents a risk to a small, isolated population should consider the possibility that it might be part of a more restricted taxon that is worthy of special consideration. If the population on Yapen Island is not taxonomically distinct, then it very likely represents an evolutionary significant unit with a relatively small area of occupancy.