Admiralty flying fox Admiralty flying fox The Admiralty flying fox ("Pteropus admiralitatum") is a species of fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae, the megabats. It is found in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It was described by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1894, based on specimens that were initially collected by the "Challenger" Expedition in 1875. Its species name "admiralitum" is a New Latin rendering of "admiralty", which is in reference to the Admiralty Islands where this species was first documented. The Admiralty flying fox is possibly a species complex of three species, with one species occupying the Admiralty Islands and
Indian flying fox a new name for a species that had already been described—"Vespertilio vampyrus" which is now "Pteropus vampyrus" (the large flying fox). Mlíkovský made several points in his argument, all with a foundation in the nomenclature rule known as Principle of Priority. The Principle of Priority posits that the first formal, published scientific name given to a species shall be the name that is used. Because Brünnich was attempting to rename the large flying fox in his 1782 publication, his name should not apply to either the large or the Indian flying fox—an older name was in existence, and therefore the