HIPPOSIDERIDAE

family of insect-eating bats, suborder Microchiroptera, known collectively as Old World leaf-nosed bats. Hipposiderid bats are characterized by a complex nose leaf (fleshy appendage on the muzzle) consisting of several compartments and leaflike sections. They are found in the tropics from Africa to Australia; one genus, Hipposideros, is found virtually throughout that range. Hipposiderid bats are usually brown, although a red colour phase occurs in such forms as the trident leaf-nosed bats (Asellia). Head and body length is about 3-11 cm (1.2-4.3 inches); the tail is either entirely lacking or, when present, measures up to 6 cm long. Most of the 60 species are gregarious and shelter in caves or similar roosts. Hipposiderid bats are closely related to the horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae) and are sometimes included with the rhinolophids as the subfamily Hipposiderinae.