Noack's roundleaf bat (''Hipposideros ruber'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a family (biology), 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 fa ...

. It is found throughout tropical Africa. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are subtropical or

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

moist lowland forests, moist

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, and caves and other subterranean habitats.

Taxonomy

The bat is also known by the synonyms ''H. centralis'' and ''H. niapu''.

Description

Newly molted individuals of the species are gray in color, but eventually turn orange, lost probably due to the presence of

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

in roosts.

Biology

Some populations of the bat are partially diurnal, with daytime foraging, chases, and other activity observed in populations of ''H. ruber'' on the island of São Tomé.

Diet

The bat seems to hunt by detecting the fluttering of wings by moths to decide whether to attack. If a moth was not fluttering its wings, or stopped during an attack, the bat would terminate its approach. The bat also does not use sight or sound to detect fluttering of wings. This appears to be a way to reduce clutter while hunting.

Echolocation

The bat echolocates at a frequency of 132-138

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

Habitat and distribution

The bat's range extends throughout much of West, Central, and East Africa and part of southern Africa including

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, southern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, northern and eastern

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

, southern

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

and north-western

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. The bat can be found up until 2300 meters above sea level. The bat mainly inhabits lowland tropical moist forest but is also found in relic and riverine forests in dry savanna. The bat is known to roost in caves, rocky crevices and abandoned mineshafts. Animals have also been found under a bridge, in a hollow kapok tree and in derelict buildings.

Conservation

The species is assessed as least-concern due to its large population, widespread range, and lack of considerable decline in population. The bat may be locally threatened in some areas due to habitat loss and subsistence hunting. The bat is not protected by any laws, but is known to exist in the Manga Forest Reserve of

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1769904 Hipposideros Mammals described in 1893 Bats of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot