 The species was classified as "least concern" by the IUCN in 2008.In February 2019 the Australian government upgraded the threatened status from vulnerable to endangered, after almost a third of the bat population died in a severe heatwave in Queensland in late 2018.The head and body length is 22–25 cm, forearm 16–18 cm, weight 400–1000 g. A large spectacled flying fox has pale yellow or straw-colored fur around its eyes.