Some of the largest and biologically richest tropical forests remaining in the world are found among the 600 islands of Papua New Guinea. These forests support a diverse bat fauna, with 91 native species ranging from the greater flying fox, with a wingspan of 1.6 meters, to the tiny, 2.5-gram lesser sheath-tailed bat. Nineteen of Papua New Guinea's bat species are found nowhere else on Earth.

Bats of Papua New Guinea is a handy, portable field guide to these fascinating flying mammals, which play crucial ecological roles as pollinators, seed dispersers, and insect predators. Accessible to amateur naturalists and scientists alike, this guide contains more than 60 color illustrations, line drawings, and maps. Detailed descriptions for each species provide information on field identification, geographic range, natural history (ecology, behavior, physiology), and conservation status. Each entry also gives a complete list of the places where the bat has been found in Papua New Guinea, as well as a list of the bats examined by the author and standard measurements recorded from them.