English: Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus giganteus) at Botanical Garden of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Français : La chauve souris géante d'Inde (Pteropus giganteus) au jardin botanique de Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Date 21 January 2006
Author Bernard Gagnon https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Bgag
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Botanical_Garden_of_Peradeniya_07.jpg

The Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus), also known as the greater Indian fruit bat, is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is nocturnal and feeds mainly on ripe fruits, such as mangoes and bananas, and nectar. The Indian flying fox lives in tropical forests and swamps, near bodies of water. They also live on coastal islands, and it is theorized that ancestors migrated here long ago and found a liking to it, or were blown there and quickly forged a lifestyle. It is found in India, Bangladesh, India, Tibet, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Pteropus
Species: Pteropus giganteus (Brünnich, 1782)
Synonyms:
Pteropus ariel Allen, 1908
Pteropus assamensis McClelland, 1839
Pteropus edwardsi I. Geoffroy, 1828
Pteropus kelaarti Gray, 1871
Pteropus leucocephalus Hodgson, 1835
Pteropus medius Temminck, 1825
Pteropus ruvicollis Ogilby, 1840 [misspelt rubricollis or rubicollis]
Vespertilio gigantea Brunnich, 1782