The family Pteropodidae was first described in 1821 by British zoologist John Edward Gray.
He named the family "Pteropidae" (after the genus Pteropus) and placed it within the now-defunct order Fructivorae.
Fructivorae contained one other family, the now-defunct Cephalotidae, containing one genus, Cephalotes (now recognized as a synonym of Dobsonia).
Gray's spelling was possibly based on a misunderstanding of the suffix of "Pteropus". "
Pteropus" comes from Ancient Greek "pterón" meaning "wing" and "poús" meaning "foot".
The Greek word pous of Pteropus is from the stem word pod-; therefore, Latinizing Pteropus correctly results in the prefix "Pteropod-".
French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte was the first to use the corrected spelling Pteropodidae in 1838.

In 1875, Irish zoologist George Edward Dobson was the first to split the order Chiroptera (bats) into two suborders: Megachiroptera (sometimes listed as Macrochiroptera) and Microchiroptera, which are commonly abbreviated to megabats and microbats.
Dobson selected these names to allude to the body size differences of the two groups, with many fruit-eating bats being larger than insect-eating bats.
Pteropodidae was the only family he included within Megachiroptera.

A 2001 study found that the dichotomy of megabats and microbats did not accurately reflect their evolutionary relationships.
Instead of Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera, the study's authors proposed the new suborders Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera.
This classification scheme has been verified several times subsequently and remains widely supported as of 2019.
Since 2005, this suborder has alternatively been called "Pteropodiformes".
Yinpterochiroptera contained species formerly included in Megachiroptera (all of Pteropodidae), as well as several families formerly included in Microchiroptera: Megadermatidae, Rhinolophidae, Nycteridae, Craseonycteridae, and Rhinopomatidae.
Two superfamilies comprise Yinpterochiroptera: Rhinolophoidea—containing the above families formerly in Microchiroptera—and Pteropodoidea, which only contains Pteropodidae.

In 1917, Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen divided Pteropodidae into three subfamilies: Macroglossinae, Pteropinae (corrected to Pteropodinae), and Harpyionycterinae.
A 1995 study found that Macroglossinae as previously defined, containing the genera Eonycteris, Notopteris, Macroglossus, Syconycteris, Melonycteris, and Megaloglossus, was paraphyletic, meaning that the subfamily did not group all the descendants of a common ancestor.
Subsequent publications consider Macroglossini as a tribe within Pteropodinae that contains only Macroglossus and Syconycteris.
Eonycteris and Melonycteris are within other tribes in Pteropodinae, Megaloglossus was placed in the tribe Myonycterini of the subfamily Rousettinae, and Notopteris is of uncertain placement.

Other subfamilies and tribes within Pteropodidae have also undergone changes since Andersen's 1917 publication.
In 1997, the pteropodids were classified into six subfamilies and nine tribes based on their morphology, or physical characteristics.
A 2011 genetic study concluded that some of these subfamilies were paraphyletic and therefore they did not accurately depict the relationships among megabat species.
Three of the subfamilies proposed in 1997 based on morphology received support: Cynopterinae, Harpyionycterinae, and Nyctimeninae.
The other three clades recovered in this study consisted of Macroglossini, Epomophorinae + Rousettini, and Pteropodini + Melonycteris.
A 2016 genetic study focused only on African pteropodids (Harpyionycterinae, Rousettinae, and Epomophorinae) also challenged the 1997 classification.
All species formerly included in Epomophorinae were moved to Rousettinae, which was subdivided into additional tribes.
The genus Eidolon, formerly in the tribe Rousettini of Rousettinae, was moved to its own subfamily, Eidolinae.

In 1984, an additional pteropodid subfamily, Propottininae, was proposed, representing one extinct species described from a fossil discovered in Africa, Propotto leakeyi.
In 2018 t
The family Pteropodidae was first described in 1821 by British zoologist John Edward Gray. He named the family "Pteropidae" (after the genus Pteropus) and placed it within the now-defunct order Fructivorae. Fructivorae contained one other family, the now-defunct Cephalotidae, containing one genus, Cephalotes (now recognized as a synonym of Dobsonia). Gray's spelling was possibly based on a misunderstanding of the suffix of "Pteropus". "Pteropus" comes from Ancient Greek "pterón" meaning "wing" and "poús" meaning "foot". The Greek word pous of Pteropus is from the stem word pod-; therefore, Latinizing Pteropus correctly results in the prefix "Pteropod-". French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte was the first to use the corrected spelling Pteropodidae in 1838.
In 1875, Irish zoologist George Edward Dobson was the first to split the order Chiroptera (bats) into two suborders: Megachiroptera (sometimes listed as Macrochiroptera) and Microchiroptera, which are commonly abbreviated to megabats and microbats. Dobson selected these names to allude to the body size differences of the two groups, with many fruit-eating bats being larger than insect-eating bats. Pteropodidae was the only family he included within Megachiroptera.
A 2001 study found that the dichotomy of megabats and microbats did not accurately reflect their evolutionary relationships. Instead of Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera, the study's authors proposed the new suborders Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera. This classification scheme has been verified several times subsequently and remains widely supported as of 2019. Since 2005, this suborder has alternatively been called "Pteropodiformes". Yinpterochiroptera contained species formerly included in Megachiroptera (all of Pteropodidae), as well as several families formerly included in Microchiroptera: Megadermatidae, Rhinolophidae, Nycteridae, Craseonycteridae, and Rhinopomatidae. Two superfamilies comprise Yinpterochiroptera: Rhinolophoidea—containing the above families formerly in Microchiroptera—and Pteropodoidea, which only contains Pteropodidae.
In 1917, Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen divided Pteropodidae into three subfamilies: Macroglossinae, Pteropinae (corrected to Pteropodinae), and Harpyionycterinae. A 1995 study found that Macroglossinae as previously defined, containing the genera Eonycteris, Notopteris, Macroglossus, Syconycteris, Melonycteris, and Megaloglossus, was paraphyletic, meaning that the subfamily did not group all the descendants of a common ancestor. Subsequent publications consider Macroglossini as a tribe within Pteropodinae that contains only Macroglossus and Syconycteris. Eonycteris and Melonycteris are within other tribes in Pteropodinae, Megaloglossus was placed in the tribe Myonycterini of the subfamily Rousettinae, and Notopteris is of uncertain placement.
Other subfamilies and tribes within Pteropodidae have also undergone changes since Andersen's 1917 publication. In 1997, the pteropodids were classified into six subfamilies and nine tribes based on their morphology, or physical characteristics. A 2011 genetic study concluded that some of these subfamilies were paraphyletic and therefore they did not accurately depict the relationships among megabat species. Three of the subfamilies proposed in 1997 based on morphology received support: Cynopterinae, Harpyionycterinae, and Nyctimeninae. The other three clades recovered in this study consisted of Macroglossini, Epomophorinae + Rousettini, and Pteropodini + Melonycteris. A 2016 genetic study focused only on African pteropodids (Harpyionycterinae, Rousettinae, and Epomophorinae) also challenged the 1997 classification. All species formerly included in Epomophorinae were moved to Rousettinae, which was subdivided into additional tribes. The genus Eidolon, formerly in the tribe Rousettini of Rousettinae, was moved to its own subfamily, Eidolinae.
In 1984, an additional pteropodid subfamily, Propottininae, was proposed, representing one extinct species described from a fossil discovered in Africa, Propotto leakeyi. In 2018 t
Megabat