Hybridisation Between Black (Pteropods alecto) and Grey- Headed (P. poliocephalus) Flying-Foxes (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae).

Abstract

The range of the black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) in Australia overlaps with two morphologically very similar congenerics: the grey-headed flying-fox (P. poliocephalus) and the spectacled flying-fox (P. conspecillatus). Protein electrophoresis was used to examine cases of apparent hybridisation between P. alecto and these other species. Two loci with fixed allelic differences were identified between P. alecto and P. poliocephalus and were used to confirm three cases of interspecific hybridisation, one of which probably occurred in the wild, and one of backcrossing. Hybrid individuals possessed external characteristics that were intermediate between the parental species. Pteropus alecto and P. conspecillatus showed very little genetic differentiation and only one out of 23 scorable loci showed a fixed allelic difference. A reported interspecific hybrid, and two other flying-foxes, considered to be possible P. alecto/P. conspecillatus hybrids, failed to show the expected heterozygous condition at this locus. Further diagnostic loci need to be sought before a definite conclusion can be made concerning the hybrid status of these individuals. The very close morphological similarity of P. alecto and P. conspecillatus, combined with their genetic similarity, suggests that more discriminating DNA based techniques would be necessary to fully describe the relationships between these closely related species.