Rhinolophidae (Sub-family of Chiroptera)

Rhinolophidae, from Greek ῥινός (rhinós, “nose”) and0 Greek‎ λόφος (lóphos, “crest”), means “crested nose”, in reference to the fact that the members of this family have a crest on their snout.

Common names of members

Horseshoe bats.

Distribution

They have a mostly Paleotropical distribution, though some species are in the southern Palearctic realm, being found in the Old World, including Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Size

They have a head and body length ranging 35–110 mm and have forearm lengths of 30–75 mm.

Morphology

Fur color is highly variable among species, ranging from black to reddish brown to bright orange-red. The underparts are paler than the back fur. The majority of species have long, soft fur.

Ecology & Habitat

Any kind of forested or unforested environment. They roost in a variety of places, including buildings, caves, tree hollows, and foliage.

Diet

They are insectivorous, though consume other arthropods such as spiders, and employ two main foraging strategies. The first strategy is flying slow and low over the ground, hunting among trees and bushes. Some species who use this strategy are able to hover over prey and glean them from the substrate. The other strategy is known as perch feeding: individuals roost on feeding perches and wait for prey to fly past, then fly out to capture it.

Reproduction

Most bat species are polygynous, where one male mates with multiple females, but there are polygynandry systems too, where multiple males mate with multiple females. Females are responsible for most of the parenting care. Males responsible for feeding and protecting young. Newborn bats cannot fly so they stay in the dwell or climb on their mothers. Usually they can fly after 2-4 weeks.