Pteropus medius Temminck (1825: 176)

Mlíkovský, Jiří, 2012, Correct name for the Indian flying fox (Pteropodidae), Vespertilio 16, pp. 203-204 : 203

The Indian flying fox was generally referred to as Pteropus edwardsi E. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire (1810: 92) by authors who did not recognize the Indian flying fox to be specifically different from the Malagassy flying fox (following I. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire 1828: 699–700; see Andersen 1912: 330–331 for citations), or as Pteropus medius Temminck (1825: 176) by those authors who did recognize the Indian individuals to be different from the African ones (see Andersen 1912: 329–330 for citations). Miller (1903: 50) suggested that Vespertilio gigantea Brünnich (1782: 45) antedates Pteropus medius Temminck, 1825 and that it should be used for the Indian species. Thereafter, the Indian flying fox has been called Pteropus giganteus (Brünnich) by most authors (e.g. Andersen 1912: 326; Ellerman & Morrison-Scott 1951: 97, 1966: 97; Bates & Harrison 1997: 9; Simmons 2005: 337; Talmale & Pradhan 2009: 6).

My search of literature has revealed that Brünnich’s Vespertilio gigantea cannot be applied to the Indian flying fox, because Brünnich (1782: 45) created gigantea as a new replacement name for Vespertilio vampyrus Linnaeus (1758: 31) with reference to Vespertilio vampyrus of “Linn. Syst. Nat. I. pag. 46. G. 4. sp. 1” [= Linnaeus 1766: 46]. The species was formally named already by Linnaeus (1758: 31), which does not influence the availability and meaning of Vespertilio gigantea , as the correct citation is assumed by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999; hereafter ‘the Code’). Thus, Vespertilio gigantea Brünnich, 1782 is a junior objective synonym of Vespertilio vampyrus Linnaeus, 1758 (Art. 72.7 of the Code) and cannot be applied to a different species.

The oldest available name for the Indian flying fox is Pteropus medius Temminck (1825: 176) .

The taxonomic status of this species is currently in flux (cf. Giannini et al. 2008, O’Brien et al. 2009, Chan et al. 2011). It should be called Pteropus medius Temminck, 1825 , as it was during much of its scientific existence, if recognized as a full species. If considered a subspecies of Pteropus vampyrus ( Linnaeus, 1758: 31) , as suggested e.g. by Corbet & Hill (1992), it should be called Pteropus vampyrus medius Temminck, 1825 .