Blyth, 1863
Blyth's Flying fox
External characters (Table 7)
This is a medium-sized Flying fox with an average forearm length of 152.9 mm (148-163 mm). The ears are large with the tips broadly rounded off. The pelage is variable in colour. In general, specimens from the Nicobar Islands have a brown head, a golden tawny or reddish mantle and a relatively pale and bright ventral surface. Specimens from the Andaman Islands are darker. The ventral surface is dark brown or blackish brown and lacks any paler mid-ventral area. The back and rump are blackish brown, lightly streaked with grey. The head is also blackish, sprinkled with a few grey hairs. The mantle is ochraceous buff in males; in females, it is darker, with only a tinge of rufous.
Cranial characters
The skull with a condylobasal length of 66.7 mm (63.3-70.7 mm) averages smaller than that of P. giganteus . The rostrum is robust and appears distinctly broad in comparison to that of P. hypomelanus (Fig. 14) and P. faunulus .
Dentition
Upper toothrow length (C-M2) averages 26.6 mm (24.6-27.9 mm). The cheekteeth are comparable in size and morphology to those of P. giganteus and are significantly broader and longer than those of P. hypomelanus (Fig. 14) such that the greatest length of M1 in P. m. melanotus is 5.6 mm (5.2-6.1 mm) as compared to 4.8 mm in the holotype of satyrus (here referred to P. h. geminorum ).
Variation
Although Saha, 1980 considered populations from the Nicobar and Andaman Islands to be indistinguishable, specimens in The Natural History Museum, London suggest that there is some subspecific differentiation. In general, specimens from the Andaman Islands are darker, especially on the ventral surface which is without paler hairs in the mid-ventral region. Currently they are referred to P. m. tytleri . Those from the Nicobar Islands are paler, especially on the ventral surface and are referred to the nominate form P. m. melanotus . There may be some intermediation in Car Nicobar.