[3] A taxonomic treatment in a new generic combination, as a subspecies of Hipposideros galeritus, was published in a revision of the genus a century later by J. E. Hill, part of his extensive work on the systematics of the order Chiroptera.

[1] A subspecific arrangement citing the works of Hill and Jenkins, and later treatments published the New Guinea authority Tim Flannery and others, is recognised as four subspecies by ITIS.

[citation needed] The form of the nose-leaf distinguishes the species by its squarish outline, which is broader at the lower part, below the nostrils, where small leaflets extend from either side of this structure.

[1] The distribution range includes the Torres Strait islands of northeast Australia and extends to a few records on the mainland in eastern Cape York and near the town of Coen, Queensland.

[citation needed] Hipposideros cervinus is recorded roosting at caves and abandoned mines in groups of individuals that suspend themselves separately, rather than huddling together, and are found cohabiting with other species of hipposiderid bats.

[9] They fly at slow speed and with a high degree of manoeuvrability while foraging for invertebrates such as beetles and moths, allowing them to hunt at low altitudes and make sudden changes in direction to catch its prey.