It was described as a new species in 1830 by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard who placed it in the now-defunct bat genus Hypoderma, with the scientific name H.

Its fur is brown and its feet have distinctive white claws.

Its ears are pointed, and its second digits lack claws, unlike flying foxes.

Its wings attach at the back along the spine rather than along the sides of the body.

[4] It is found in Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and Australia.