Horseshoe bat

Horseshoe bats
Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Suborder: Yinpterochiroptera
Family: Rhinolophidae
Gray, 1825
Genus: Rhinolophus
Lacépède, 1799
Type species
Vespertilio ferrum-equinum
Schreber, 1774
Species

See text.

Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae) are a family of bats. In addition to the single living genus, Rhinolophus, there is one extinct genus, Palaeonycteris. The closely related Hipposideridae are sometimes included within the horseshoe bats as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae. Both families are classified in the suborder Yinpterochiroptera or Pteropodiformes and were previously included in Microchiroptera.

Contents

Appearance

All horseshoe bats have leaf-like, horseshoe-shaped protuberances on their noses. In the related Hipposideridae, these noseleafs are leaf- or spear-like. They emit echolocation calls through these structures, which may serve to focus the sound. Their hind limbs are not well developed, so that they cannot walk on all fours; conversely, their wings are broad, making their flight particularly agile. Most rhinolophids are dull brown or reddish brown in color. They vary in size from 2.5 cm to 14 cm in head-body length, and 4 to 120 grams in weight (Macdonald, 1984). Their dental formula is Upper: 1.1.1-2.3, lower: 2.1.2-3.3.

The females have a pair of mammary glands and two "false nipples" above and to the side of the genital opening, which newborn bats cling to for a few days after birth.

Ecology

Rhinolophids inhabit temperate and tropical regions of southern Europe, Africa, and Asia south to northern and eastern Australia. All species are insectivorous, capturing insects in flight. Their roost habits are diverse; some species are found in large colonies in caves, some prefer hollow trees, and others sleep in the open, among the branches of trees. Members of northern populations may hibernate during the winter, while a few are known to aestivate; at least one species is migratory. Like many Vespertilionidae bats, females of some rhinolophid species mate during the fall and store the sperm over the winter, conceiving and gestating young beginning in the spring.

Classification

Horseshoe bats are closely related to the family Hipposideridae, which is often included within Rhinolophidae; however, it is now considered a separate family (Simmons, 2005; Hutcheon and Kirsch, 2006). In addition to the sole living genus, Rhinolophus, Rhinolophidae contains one extinct genus, Palaeonycteris (McKenna and Bell, 1997). Many species are extremely difficult to distinguish.

Although horseshoe bats have traditionally been included in the suborder Microchiroptera ("microbats"), genetic evidence suggests they and a few other microbat families are more closely related to Pteropodidae, the only family of "megabats" (Megachiroptera). Therefore, Pteropodidae, horseshoe bats, and related families are now placed in a single suborder, called Yinpterochiroptera or Pteropodiformes (Hutcheon and Kirsch, 2006).

Medical significance

In September 2005, four Rhinolophus species (R. sinicus, R. ferrumequinum, R. macrotis, R. pearsoni) were identified as natural reservoirs of SARS coronavirus-like viruses, the causative agent of SARS outbreaks in 2002–2004 (Li et al., 2005; Lau et al., 2005).

List of species

Genus Rhinolophus

References