Bulmer's fruit bat
species of mammal
Bulmer's fruit bat (Aproteles bulmerae) is a megabat endemic to New Guinea. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and hunting. It is the only member of the genus Aproteles. Due to its imperiled status, it is identified by the Alliance for Zero Extinction as a species in danger of imminent extinction.
Etymology
The genus name (Aproteles) – "incomplete at the front" (Greek), is a reference to the lack of lower incisors; the species name (bulmerae) was assigned for Susan Bulmer, the archaeologist who excavated the site from which the original fossils were recovered.
Distribution and habitat
Bulmer's fruit bat is a cave-dweller that occurs in mid-montane forests. It has been found living in a cave at 2300 m elevation. Its altitudinal range is at least 1800 – 2400 m. It occurs in the Maoke Range Alpine Heathlands Global 200 Ecoregion
Bulmer's fruit bat was first described from 12,000-year-old fossils found in the central highlands in Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea in 1960. It may have become extinct there about 9000 years ago.
“Bulmer's fruit bat” enters the record as species of mammal. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Bulmer's, fruit and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Bulmer's fruit bat” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Bulmer's, fruit and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1767141. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1800 and 1960.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bulmer's fruit bat”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bulmer's fruit bat primary sources, Bulmer's fruit bat archive and Bulmer's research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bulmer's fruit bat”?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bulmer's fruit bat” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.