The intermediate horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus affinis'') is a

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

species of the family Rhinolophidae (“nose crest”) that is very widespread throughout much of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, southern and central

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. It is listed by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

as it is considered common where it occurs, without any known major threats.

Taxonomy

The intermediate horseshoe bat was described as a new species in 1823 by American naturalist

Thomas Horsfield Thomas Horsfield (May 12, 1773 – July 24, 1859) was an American physician and natural history, naturalist who worked extensively in Indonesia, describing numerous species of plants and animals from the region. He was later a curator of the Eas ...

. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

was collected on the Indonesian island of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. ''Rhinolophus affinis'' is divided into the following nine subspecies: * ''R. a. affinis'' * ''R. a. andamanensis'' * ''R. a. hainanus'' * ''R. a. himalayanus'' * ''R. a. macrurus'' * ''R. a. nesites'' * ''R. a. princes'' * ''R. a. superans'' * ''R. a. tener'' It varies in appearance and echolocation characteristics throughout its range, suggesting that this taxon may represent a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

of closely related species.

Description

The intermediate horseshoe bat has a total length of , with a forearm length of . Individuals weigh approximately .

Distribution

The intermediate horseshoe bat is widely distributed throughout Asia, occurring from India and China throughout Southeast Asia. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. The easternmost extent of its range are the Indonesian

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...

and

. It is found at elevations from above sea level.

References

External links

* *
Sound recordings of ''Rhinolophus affinis'' on BioAcoustica
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765459 Rhinolophidae Bats of Asia Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Mammals of Bangladesh Bats of China Mammals of India Mammals of Nepal Mammals of Bhutan Least concern biota of Asia Mammals described in 1823 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Thomas Horsfield Bats of India Bats of Borneo