A large fruit-eating bat native only to the Ogasawara Islands.
Its dark brown coat is mixed with glossy grayish-white hairs.
Fieldwork and literature from 2004–2014 in Ogasawara recorded 105 plant species and one insect species as food for the Bonin flying fox. Seventy-six plants were cultivated alien species. The records included fruit from 68 plant species, flowers from 43, and leaves from 37. On Chichijima, alien plants featured heavily, though endemic and other native plants were also eaten.
The authors suggest that eating fruit may disperse seeds and visiting flowers may transfer pollen. A 2010 plan by four Japanese ministries lists restoring native forest, protecting winter roosts, and reducing entanglement in agricultural nets. Recorded foods therefore include both native forest plants and cultivated crops across the islands.
Japan Ministry of the Environment Red List 2020 (mammals) · Endangered (EN) · Japan
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment Red List 2020 classifies the Bonin flying fox as Endangered (EN). The Ministry’s current overview says the 2020 edition remains the latest assessment for the remaining terrestrial animal groups, including mammals. A 2010 inter-ministerial conservation plan calls for monitoring, restoring native forest vegetation, protecting communal winter roosts, and preventing entanglement in crop-protection nets.