''Brachipposideros nooraleebus'' is an extinct species of bat, known from a large series of fossil specimens found at Riversleigh fossil site in Australia. The nearest living relative is the orange horseshoe bat, ''

Rhinonicteris aurantia The orange leaf-nosed bat (''Rhinonicteris aurantia'') is a bat in the family Rhinonycteridae. It is the only living species in the genus '' Rhinonicteris'' which is endemic to Australia, occurring in the far north and north-west of the continen ...

'', which occurs in the same area.

Description

hipposiderid The Hipposideridae are a family of bats commonly known as the Old World leaf-nosed bats. While it has often been seen as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae, of the family Rhinolophidae, it is now more generally classified as its own family.Simmons, 200 ...

that resembles the extant species ''

'', and related to 'leaf-nosed' bats found on other continents. The leaf-shaped structure is an elaborate and fleshy arrangement that assisted the bat to locate its assumed prey, flying insects, by manipulating the high frequency sound used in echolocation. The ultra high frequency sound is produced in the larynx and emitted through the nose. Like other bats, the shape of the ears was attuned to receive the reflected sound, and is grooved in appearance. As with other hipposiderids, a protuberance at the ear—the enlarged and fleshy tragus found in other bat species—is absent. The wingspan was around 150 millimetres. They inhabited

limestone cave A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in a soluble rock like limestone (Calcium carbonate, with chemical formula ''CaCO3''). It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, inc ...

s in large numbers, up to five thousand, during a period 24-16 million years ago; this is supported by the evidence at Riversleigh, They are thought to have existed until the

early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

. Another bat species that was fossilised in the region was ''

Australonycteris clarkae ''Australonycteris'' is an extinct and monotypic genus of microchiropteran bat with the single species ''Australonycteris clarkae''. The species is known from fragmentary remains found at the Murgon fossil site, in south-eastern Queensland, dati ...

'', which existed during the

early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

period (55mya) and is amongst the most ancient to have been discovered. The nearest known relations are extant species in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and extinct bat taxa in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. The species has been referred to as the Riversleigh leaf-nosed bat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q60768355 Miocene bats Rhinonycteridae Fossils of Australia Extinct animals of Australia