Horseshoe bats

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Horseshoe bats
Great horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)

Great horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum )

Systematics
Subclass : Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Bats (chiroptera)
Superfamily : Horseshoe bat (Rhinolophoidea)
Family : Rhinolophidae
Genre : Horseshoe bats
Scientific name of the  family
Rhinolophidae
JE Gray , 1825
Scientific name of the  genus
Rhinolophus
Lacépède , 1799

The horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae) represent a family from the order of the bats . The family comprises 109 species, all of which belong to the genus Rhinolophus . The round-leaf noses (Hipposideridae) are sometimes incorporated into the horseshoe bats as the subfamily Hipposiderinae.

distribution

Horseshoe bats are common in Eurasia , Africa, and Australia . Five species can also be found in Europe , namely

Other species of the genus are:

  • Vietnamese horseshoe bat ( R. microglobosus , considered a subspecies)

description

The animals get their name from the leaf-like skin formations that surround the nostrils. These consist of a horseshoe-shaped lower flap, which is sunk in the middle and in which the two nostrils are located, and a saddle, which closes the nostrils at the top and is reminiscent of an ax lying behind . There is also a lancet, a triangular, pointed structure on the forehead. This nose is used by the horseshoe bats to amplify the sound. The ears have a noticeably broad base and taper to a point.

The wings of the animals are very broad, and the short tail is completely integrated into the flight membrane. The flight of the animals seems rather slow and wobbling with long gliding distances, but the maneuverability of the animals is very good.

Horseshoe bats reach a head body length of 35 to 110 millimeters and a weight of four to 30 grams.

Way of life

In their roosts, the animals usually hang individually and are completely smashed into their flight skin. If they are disturbed, they can start straight away without long lethargy. Like other bats, the animals hunt at night and use echolocation to find their way around . The sounds are emitted through their nostrils. They very often catch their prey, mainly insects and spiders , with the arm fly skin.

Medical importance

In September 2005, four Rhinolophus species, the red-brown Chinese horseshoe bat ( R. sinicus ), the great horseshoe bat ( R. ferrumequinum ), the big-eared horseshoe bat ( R. macrotis ) and the Pearson's horseshoe bat ( R. pearsoni ) became natural reservoirs of SARS coronavirus-like viruses (subgenus Sarbecovirus of the genus Betacoronavirus ) identified, and thus the origin of the SARS outbreaks in 2002-2004.

literature

Web links

Commons : Horseshoe Bat  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rhinolophus Lacépède, 1799 at ITIS
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Horseshoe-nosed bats , on: Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald , Oberursel from December 16, 2015
  3. ↑ a b c Chelmala Srinivasulu, Aditya Srinivasulu, Bhargavi Srinivasulu and Gareth Jones. 2019. Integrated Approaches to Identifying Cryptic Bat Species in Areas of High Endemism: The Case of Rhinolophus andamanensis in the Andaman Islands. PLoS ONE. 14 (10): e0213562. DOI: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0213562
  4. ↑ a b c Hong Zhou, Xing Chen, Tao Hu, Juan Li, Hao Song, Yanran Liu, Peihan Wang, Di Liu, Jing Yang, Edward C. Holmes, Alice C. Hughes, Yuhai Bi, Weifeng Shi: A novel bat coronavirus closely related to SARS-CoV-2 contains natural insertions at the S1 / S2 cleavage site of the spike protein . In: Current Biology. May 11, 2020 (pre-proof), doi: 10.1016 / j.cub.2020.05.023 .
  5. ↑ [Mammalogy • 2019] Rhinolophus andamanensis • Integrated Approaches to Identifying Cryptic Bat Species in Areas of High Endemism , on: novataxa of October 31, 2019
  6. ↑ a b c Stefan Hintsche: System of living beings: Rhinolophidae (2013)
  7. ↑ Li, W., Zhengli, S., Meng, Y., et al. : Bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses . Science 310 (5748), October 28, 2005, pp. 676-679, doi: 10.1126 / science.1118391
  8. ↑ Lau, S., Woo, P., Li, K. et al. : Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe bats . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 102 (39), September 27, 2005, pp. 14040-14045, doi: 10.1073 / pnas.0506735102