Nycteridae

Nycteris thebaica

The slotted lugs ( Nycteridae ) are a family bat from the superfamily of horseshoe bat -like ( Rhinolophoidea ). It includes a generic, Nycteris, with 12 to 15 species.

Dissemination

Slit noses have a two-tier distribution: most species live in sub-Saharan Africa, the Egyptian slot nose ( Nycteris thebaica ) comes in addition before the north of the continent and the Arabian Peninsula. Two species are native to Southeast Asia (from the Malay Peninsula to Bali).

Description

The slit noses its name from a longitudinal groove on the snout, which is surrounded with small nose leaves and extends up over his eyes. The nostrils are sitting at the front end of this slot. The ears are large and connected to each other through a small skin membrane. The long tail ends in a T -shaped tip that is used to tension the Uropatagiums ( the flight membrane between the legs) together with the calcar ( a spike at the ankle ). Their fur is usually gray in color brown. Slit noses reach a body length of four to nine centimeters, a tail length of four to eight centimeters and a weight of ten to 43 grams.

Way of life

With regard to the habitat of the single slit nose species differ from each other, while some representatives as Nycteris aurita prefer dry regions such as savannas and semi-deserts, others live as Nycteris intermedia especially in rain forests and moist grasslands. As Sleeps serve them hollows of trees, dense foliage, caves and rock crevices, buildings, but also burrows of porcupine or aardvark. Mostly they sleep alone or in small family groups, from the Egyptian slit nose, there are reports of up to 600 animals large groups that were found in caves.

Food

Slit noses feed primarily on insects and spiders, the larger species are also scorpions to himself. From the Great nose slot ( N. grandis) is known to take small vertebrates ( fish, frogs, birds and other bats) to itself.

Reproduction

Not too much is known about the reproduction of the slotted lugs. Reports on the gestation time vary from 2.5 to 6 months, although it is shorter in tropical regions. This could be a delayed growth of embryos depending on the food resources, as is well known in other bats related. Mostly comes a single young is born, which is suckled around two months. From some tropical species is known to be a year can many times bring offspring into the world.

Threat

Main threat to the slit nose is the loss of habitat through conversion to agricultural areas. The IUCN leads the Java slit nose as threatened ( vulnerable ) and the Malay slit nose in the early warning ( near threatened ). However, no precise data are available for many species.

Systematics and species

There are 12 generally recognized species of slit noses, which can be divided into five species groups:

  • Arge group Bate - slit nose ( Nycteris discharge): Sierra Leone and Kenya to Angola
  • Mean slit nose ( N. intermedia): Ivory Coast and Tanzania to Angola
  • Yes slit nose ( N. major - named after a river in Cameroon): Liberia to Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Dwarf slit nose ( N. nana ): Ivory Coast and Kenya to Angola
  • Java slit nose ( N. javanica ): Java and Bali
  • Malay slit nose ( N. tragata ): Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo
  • Large slit nose ( N. grandis): Liberia and Kenya to Zimbabwe
  • Hairy slit nose ( N. hispida ): Senegal and Somalia to South Africa
  • Large ear - nose slot ( N. macrotis ): Senegal and Sudan to Mozambique, also in Madagascar
  • Wood - slit nose ( N. woodi ): Cameroon and Somalia to South Africa
  • Egyptian slit nose ( N. thebaica ): almost all of Africa, Arabian Peninsula
  • Gambia slit nose ( N. gambiensis ): Senegal to Burkina Faso and Benin

Other species which are often only listed as a species, are N. madagascariensis in Madagascar, N. and N. aurita Parisii in eastern Africa and N. vinsoni in Mozambique.

Laurasiatheria Genus Rainforest
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