The Samoan flying fox is a medium-sized bat weighing about 450 grams (16 oz) with a wingspan of about 0.86 metres (2 ft 10 in).

It has a fox-like face with a pointed muzzle, a brown body and wings; the fur on its head and shoulders is blond or silvery-grey.

In the 1980s, it was killed commercially for export as a luxury food item, but a stop was put to that trade when it was listed in Appendix I of CITES in 1990.

In 2018, the U.S. Mint had several candidate designs developed for the 2020 National Park of American Samoa quarter for the America the Beautiful series.

This design is intended to promote awareness to the threatened status of this species due to habitat loss and commercial hunting.

The bats on the coins were designed by Richard Masters, who worked as Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's Department of Art.