''Nycteris'' comprises a genus 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 ...

s commonly called slit-faced or hollow-faced bats. They are grouped in the family Nycteridae. The bats are found in

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and many parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Description

They are small bats, from in body length, and with grey, brown, or reddish fur. The skull is distinguished by a characteristic interorbital concavity, externally connected to a long slit that runs down the centre of their faces from between the eyes to the nostrils, and probably assists in echolocation. They have large ears, and a complex

nose-leaf A nose-leaf, or leaf nose, is an often large, lance-shaped nose, found in bats of the Phyllostomidae, Hipposideridae, and Rhinolophidae families. Because these bats Animal echolocation, echolocate nasally, this nose-leaf is thought to serve a role ...

. Their tails end in a T-shape, formed from cartilage, a unique feature among mammals. Their

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

is: Nycterids have a reduction of the hand

phalanges The phalanges (: phalanx ) are digit (anatomy), digital bones in the hands and foot, feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the Thumb, thumbs and Hallux, big toes have two phalanges while the other Digit (anatomy), digits have three phalanges. ...

: the 2nd digit has only

metacarpus In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus, also known as the "palm bones", are the appendicular skeleton, appendicular bones that form the intermediate part of the hand between the phalanges (fingers) and the carpal bones (wrist, wris ...

, and the 3rd only two phalanges. The

pectoral girdle The shoulder girdle or pectoral girdle is the set of bones in the appendicular skeleton which connects to the arm on each side. In humans, it consists of the clavicle and scapula; in those species with three bones in the shoulder, it consists o ...

has parallel features to birds. The

sternum The sternum (: sternums or sterna) or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major bl ...

is strongly developed and the mesosternum has a keel.

Habitat and biology

Slit-faced bats inhabit rainforests and savanna, and roost in caves, trees, and buildings, typically in fairly small colonies. Some even roost in animal burrows, such as those of

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

s, aardvarks or

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

s. They eat insects, and some terrestrial invertebrates, such as spiders and small scorpions. At least one species, the large slit-faced bat, even catches vertebrate prey, such as frogs and small birds. The echolocation calls of slit-faced bats are relatively quiet and short in duration, and they seem to target their prey by hearing the sounds it produces, rather than by sonar. They give birth once or twice each year.

Distribution

The genus ''Nycteris'' is found in the

Afrotropics The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

and the adjacent areas of Palaearctic,

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 Oriental realms.

Classification

Most sources report 13 species. However, 16 have been described. Those of indeterminate status are marked with "?" in the list below. Family Nycteridae *Genus ''Nycteris'' ** Bates's slit-faced bat, ''N. arge'' ** Andersen's slit-faced bat, ''N. aurita'' ** Gambian slit-faced bat, ''N. gambiensis'' ** Large slit-faced bat, ''N. grandis'' **

Hairy slit-faced bat The hairy slit-faced bat (''Nycteris hispida'') is a species of slit-faced bat widely distributed throughout forests and savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised ...

, ''N. hispida'' ***''N. h. hispida'' ***''N. h. pallida'' ** Intermediate slit-faced bat, ''N. intermedia'' ** Javan slit-faced bat, ''N. javanica'' ** Large-eared slit-faced bat, ''N. macrotis'' ***''N. m.aethiopica'' ***''N. m. macrotis'' ***''N. m.luteola'' ** Malagasy slit-faced bat, ''N. madagascariensis'' ** Ja slit-faced bat, ''N. major'' ***''N. m. avakubia'' ***''N. m. major'' ** Dwarf slit-faced bat, ''N. nana'' ***''N. n.nana'' ***''N. n.tristis'' ** Egyptian slit-faced bat, ''N. thebaica'' ***''N. t. adana'' ***''N. t. albiventer'' ***''N. t. capensis'' ***''N. t. damarensis'' ***''N. t. najdiya'' ***''N. t. thebaica'' ** Malayan slit-faced bat, ''N. tragata'' ** Parissi's slit-faced bat, ''N. parisii'' ? ** Vinson's slit-faced bat, ''N. vinsoni'' ** Wood's slit-faced bat, ''N. woodi''

References

Data from funet.ni
* IUCN 2006
2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Downloaded on 13 April 2007.

Description

Habitat and biology

Distribution

Classification

References

Further reading