''Nycteris'' comprises a genus of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". 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 bi ...

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

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and many parts of

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

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. Their tails end in a T-shape, formed from cartilage, a unique feature among mammals. Their dental formula is: Nycterids have a reduction of the hand

phalanges The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. ...

: the 2nd digit has only

metacarpus In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ...

, and the 3rd only two phalanges. The pectoral girdle has parallel features to birds. The sternum is strongly developed and the

mesosternum The mesothorax is the middle of the three segments of the Thorax (arthropod anatomy), thorax of Hexapoda, hexapods, and bears the second pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the mesonotum (Dorsum (biology), dorsal), the m ...

has a

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

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 hedgehogs,

aardvarks The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike ...

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

s. They eat insects, and some terrestrial invertebrates, such as spiders and small scorpions. At least one species, the

large slit-faced bat The large slit-faced bat (''Nycteris grandis'') is a species of slit-faced bat with a broad distribution in forest and savanna habitats in West, Central, and East Africa. ''N. marica'' (Kershaw, 1923), is the available name for the southern savan ...

, 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 Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...

and the adjacent areas of Palaearctic,

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

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'' **

Bate's slit-faced bat Bate's slit-faced bat (''Nycteris arge'') is a species of slit-faced bat frequently confused with '' Nycteris major''. It is broadly distributed and common, living throughout many parts of Africa in forests and savannas. It was described as a ne ...

, ''N. arge'' ** Andersen's slit-faced bat, ''N. aurita'' ** Gambian slit-faced bat, ''N. gambiensis'' **

Large slit-faced bat The large slit-faced bat (''Nycteris grandis'') is a species of slit-faced bat with a broad distribution in forest and savanna habitats in West, Central, and East Africa. ''N. marica'' (Kershaw, 1923), is the available name for the southern savan ...

, ''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) ecosystem characterised by the trees ...

, ''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 The large-eared slit-faced bat (''Nycteris macrotis''), is a species of slit-faced bat which lives in forests and savannas throughout Africa. '' Nycteris vinsoni'' was once considered a synonym of ''N. macrotis'', but it became recognized as a se ...

, ''N. macrotis'' ***''N. m.aethiopica'' ***''N. m. macrotis'' ***''N. m.luteola'' **

Malagasy slit-faced bat The Malagasy slit-faced bat (''Nycteris madagascariensis'') is a species of slit-faced bat native to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: ...

, ''N. madagascariensis'' **

Ja slit-faced bat The Ja slit-faced bat (''Nycteris major'') is a species of slit-faced bat ''Nycteris'' comprises a genus of bats commonly called slit-faced or hollow-faced bats. They are grouped in the family Nycteridae. The bats are found in East Malaysia, In ...

, ''N. major'' ***''N. m. avakubia'' ***''N. m. major'' **

Dwarf slit-faced bat The dwarf slit-faced bat (''Nycteris nana'') is a species of slit-faced bat living in forest and savanna regions of Central Africa. Two subspecies have been identified: ''N. n. nana'' and ''N. n. tristis''. The bat's range goes from Côte d'Ivoir ...

, ''N. nana'' ***''N. n.nana'' ***''N. n.tristis'' **

Egyptian slit-faced bat The Egyptian slit-faced bat (''Nycteris thebaica'') is a species of slit-faced bat broadly distributed throughout Africa and the Middle East. It is a species of microbat in the family Nycteridae. Six subspecies are known. Description The Egypt ...

, ''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 Parissi's slit-faced bat (''Nycteris parisii'') is a species of slit-faced bat that may live in dry savanna regions of East Africa, near the Duba Valley and Benue River along with large rivers. It is only known from three specimens. One was foun ...

, ''N. parisii'' ? **

Vinson's slit-faced bat Vinson's slit-faced bat (''Nycteris vinsoni'') is a species of slit-faced bat known only from two specimens. Both specimens were smoked out of a baobab tree in a national park in southern Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of ...

, ''N. vinsoni'' **

Wood's slit-faced bat Wood's slit-faced bat (''Nycteris woodi'') is a species of slit-faced bat that lives in the dry savanna regions of Southern Africa. Its numbers are declining due to habitat loss from logging and farming, pesticide use, and the decline of baobab tr ...

, ''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