Suborder  Microchiroptera

A suborder of bats that orientate themselves and locate prey principally by means of echolocation, aided by large, specialized ears and in many species by modifications of the nose which serve to beam the sound emissions. Typically, microchiropterans are insectivorous, but many have adapted o diet of fruit, fish, flesh, nectar, or blood. Microchiropterans are known to have lived in Paleocene and today they are among the most successful of all mammal groups. They are about 18 families, with some 700 species in all.

Mouse-tailed bats

Family Rhinopomatidae

Mouse-tailed, rat-tailed or long-tailed bats.

Three species in 1 genus (Rhinopoma).

N Africa to S Sudan, Middle East, India and SE Asia, Sumatra.  Arid or savanna areas, also agricultural and disturbed habitats.

Size small:  hbl 5-8cm; tl 6 cm; fl 5-7cm; wt 10-25g.

Tail exceptional being about as long as the head and body length and entirely free of membrane.  Ears connected across the forehead with a distinct but simple tragus. Small noseleaf looking like a pig's muzzle.

Insectivorous.

Do not hibernate but accumulate large quantities of fat seasonally and become torpid during cold dry weather when insects unavailable.

Kitti's hog-nosed bat

Family Craseonycteridae

Hog-nosed or Butterfly bat.

Single species (Craseonycteris thonglonguai), first described in 1974.
W Thailand. Bamboo forests and teak plantations.

The world's smallest bat and mammal: hbl 2.9-3.3cm; tail absent; fl 2.1-2.6cm; ws 15-17cm; wt 1.5-3g.

Tailless, but interfemoral membrane stretched between its rather thin legs. ears relatively large. Nose glandular and pig-like in appearance.

Upperparts brown to reddish or gray, underside paler, wings darker.

Insectivorous and colonial, forming small roosting groups in caves.

Total world population is thought to be about 200 bats.

Slit-faced bats

Family Nycteridae

Slit-faced, hollow-faced or hispid bats

Eleven species in one genus (Nycteris).

Africa and adjacent Asia, E Mediterranean and Red Sea. N. javanica in Malaysia and Indonesia. Arid areas as well as rain forests.

Medium sized: hbl 4-8cm; tl 4-8cm; fl 3.5-6cm; wt 10-30g.

Complex nose-leaf divided by a groove containing nostrils towards the muzzle tip and a deep pit between the eyes.
Ears large and tragus small: unique amongst mammals in having a tail that is T-shaped at tip.

Coat: long, usually rich brown to grayish.

Insectivorous, including arthropods such as scorpions and spiders.

Sometimes small groups occur with other species. Have several periods of estrus (heat) and give birth twice per year.

Leaf-nosed bats

Family Hipposideridae

Leaf-nosed or trident bats.

 

At least 61 species in9 genera.

Old World tropics from Africa through SE Asia to the Philippines, Solomons and Australia.

Size: hbl 2.5-14cm; tail mostly absent but may be up to 6cm; fl 3-11.5cm; wt 4-120g.

Nose-leaf lacks a well-defined horse-shoe and the lancet is a transverse leaf often with three points.

Ears generally large.

Coat: mostly drab grays and browns but a few species brightly colored, orange or yellowish-gold, occasionally    with whitish fur patches.

Diet: insects and other arthropods but larger species such as the Great round-leaf bat (Hipposideros armiger) may opportunistically take small vertebrates.

False vampire bat

Family Megadermatidae

False vampire or yellow-winged bat

Five species in 4 genera.

Old World tropics from C Africa, through India and SE Asia to the Philippines and Australia.

Among the larger microchiropteran bats with the Australian ghost bat (Macroderma gigas), the largest: hbl 6.5-14cm; tail absent; fl 5-12cm; wt 20-200g.

Ears very large and erect joined over the forehead; tragus divided. eyes large. Nose-leaf prominent, largest in the African Yellow-winged bat (Lavia frons).
          Coat: drab but very variable, ranging from bluish-grey to brown and whitish. yellow-winged bat very colorful with ears and wings yellowish-orange and the fur usually bluish-grey to olive-green.
           Diet variable, including small vertebrates, bats, small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibia and fish as well as insects and spiders.

Horseshoe bats

Family Rhinolophidae

About 69 species in one genus (Rhinolophus).

Old World especially in the tropics; a few  species in temperate Europe, Asia and Japan.

Mostly small: hbl 3.5-11cm; tl 2.5-4.5cm; fl 3.5-7cm; wt 4-40g.

Vernacular name derives from the horseshoe-shaped front part of the complex nose-leaf.

Ears usually  large. Hind limbs poorly developed, unable to work quadrupedally. Broad wings makes them among the most maneuverable of species in flight.

Coat: very variable color, from yellow through red to dark brown, gray and black.

Insectivorous, catching their food close to or from the ground.

Roost mainly in caves or mines but also hollow trees and buildings. At roost fold their wings around themselves.

Some species solitary but most are gregarious, sometimes forming huge colonies of many thousands.

Leaf-chinned bats

Family Mormoopidae

Leaf-chinned, naked-backed or ghost-faced.

Eight species in 2 genera.

Extreme SW USA through C America and Caribbean south to central S Brazil.

Small to medium sized: hbl 4-7.7cm; tl 1.5-3.5cm; fl 3.5-6.5cm; wt 7-25g.

Lack a nose-leaf but have leaf-like development of the lips so that a dish-shape can be created.

Several species apparently have naked backs but this is due to the wing membranes joining at the upper midline.

Ears small with a tragus. Tail projects slightly beyond the end of the interfemoral membrane.

Fur short and dense, reddish-brown to brownish-gray.

Insectivorous, feeding low, near to, or over water.

Primarily roost in caves where at least half a million may occur, often producing large quantities of guano which is sometimes mined for fertilizer. Large colonies occur at over 3.300m in the Andes.

Bulldog bats

Family Noctilionidae

Bulldog or fisherman bats.

Two species in one genus (Noctilio).
Latin America from mexico to Argentina.
Fishing bulldog bat (Noctilio leporinus): hbl 9.5-14cm; fl 7-9.5cm; wt 70g. 
Southern bulldog bat (N. albiventris): hbl 7cm; fl 5.4-7cm; wt 15-25g.

Fishing bulldog bat has short orange or yellowish fur which sheds water readily.

This species is highly adapted for catching and eating fish, the most characteristic feature being huge feet on long legs with incredibly sharp claws. The toes are highly flattened laterally so as to present minimal resistance when pulled through water while attempting to gaff fish. Fish quickly transferred to the mouth. Fish are thought to be caught by the bat echolocating ripples as the fish break the surface. Fish up to 8cm long are taken. They also take insects, especially if fish are difficult to find.

Short-tailed bats

Family Mystacinidae

Two species (Mystacina tuberculataand M. robusta).

New Zealand and adjacent islands.

Small bats: hbl 6cm; tl 1.8cm; fl 3.6-4.9cm; wt 7-35g.

Thumb and toe claws have extra projection or talon, unique among bats, which may aid running, climbing, or burrowing for food or excavating roost sites.

Fur mole-like, grey, dense and velvety.

The tongue is partly extensible with papillae at its tip.

Omnivorous, eating fruit, nectar and pollen as well as insects and other arthropods.

These two species and a vespertillionid bat are the only indigenous mammals in New Zealand.

Spear-nosed bats

Family Phyllostomatidae

Spear-nosed or New World leaf-nosed bats. 

 

About 140 species in 47 genera.

New World from extreme SW USA throughout C America and Caribbean south to N Argentina. 

Generally robust animals with sizes ranging from small to the largest American bat, the False vampire, (Vampyrum spectrum): hbl 4-13.5cm; tail absent or 0.4-5.5cm; fl 3-11cm; wt 7-200g. Wingspan up to 1m in Vampyrum.

Most species have a spear-shaped nose-leaf but five have none, or a more comlex shape. Ears usually simple but may be very large and a tragus is invariably present.

Apart from one more or less white bat, the Honduran white bat   , (Ectophylla alba), others are brown, gray or black, occasionally with hair tufts which are red or white and associated with glands producing oily secretions. Several species have longitudinal whitish lines on the face and/or body.

Diet mainly insects, but a few carnivorous or omnivorous, eating small bats and other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians: and many feed on fruit, pollen and nectar, aided by a presence of a long tongue bearing bristly papillae in many species, eg Spear-nosed long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina), Geoffroy's long-nosed bat (Anoura geoffroyi) and Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis).

Roost sites variable including caves, mines, culverts, tree-hollows, animal burrows, termite nests and among foliage. A few species of the genera Uroderma (tent-building bats) and Artibeus make shelters by biting through leaf-ribs and hence forming "tents".

Vampire bats

Family Desmodontidae

Three species in 3 genera.

Mexico to N Argentina.

Medium-sized bats: hbl 6.5-9cm; fl 5-6.5cm; wt 15-45g.

External tail lacking. Muzzles appear swollen and glandular, giving the expression of a nose-leaf.

Fur is grizzled, being shades of brown, and one species, the White-wing vampire (Diaemus youngi), has white wing-tips and edges.

Teeth highly specialized. The Common vampire (Desmodus rotundus), has 22 teeth, of which only the 6 chisel-like incisors and 4 razor-like canines play any part in feeding. A small sliver of skin about 3x8mm removed, usually from an area devoid of hair or feathers. The blood that flows, aided by anticoagulants in the saliva, is lapped with the tongue which has two lateral grooves that narrow and widen during feeding. The Common vampire feeds on mammalian blood, mostly from domesticated species; the other two much rarer species apparently prefer birds.

Colonial,  but groups tend to be small, usually much less than 100.

Some authorities include this family in the Phyllostomatidae.