It was
described as a new species in 1940 by mammalogist
H. Harold Shamel. The
holotype had been collected in 1918 by H. C. Raven. Its
species name "
pelingensis" is
Latin for "belonging to Peling." Shamel was using an incorrect alternate spelling of the island of
Peleng, which is where the holotype was collected. The
Principle of Priority, which is a rule of
nomenclature, means that Shamel's species name will be retained as he wrote it, though the common name can change to reflect the accurate spelling. At times in the past, it has been considered a
subspecies of the
fierce roundleaf bat,
Hipposideros dinops. ==Habitat and ecology==