Heart-nosed Bat (Cardioderma cor) lives in tropical savanna across Sub-Saharan Africa. It feeds on insects and fruit. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Heart-nosed Bat
- The heart-nosed bat is the sole member of its genus Cardioderma, meaning no other bat shares this taxonomic distinction. It inhabits a limited range in eastern Sudan, northern Tanzania and southern Zambia, occupying dry lowlands, coastal strips and river valleys. The species lives at elevations no higher than 940 m and forms large, single-species colonies in abandoned buildings, dry caves or baobab trees.
- Experiments in 2017 showed that heart-nosed bats emit vocalisations to establish and actively defend their foraging areas from conspecific rivals. Each night the bats leave their daytime roosts and sing, using a loud song that is common overall and a softer, more variable song that predominates in the dry season. These songs serve as audible boundaries, allowing individuals to mark territories without physical confrontation.
- Unlike most other bats, the heart-nosed bat lacks a tail, giving it a distinctive silhouette in flight. It is a small animal, weighing between 21 and 35 g and measuring 70-77 mm from head to tip of the nose, with long, loose blue-grey fur that hangs from its body.
- In the wet season the heart-nosed bat switches from mainly terrestrial beetles to a broader menu that features large beetles, locusts, katydids, moths, small bats and frogs. This opportunistic feeding lets it exploit the surge of insects and occasional vertebrate prey that follow the rains.
- The soft song is heard more often in the dry season than the louder counterpart, and each individual bat adds its own subtle variations to the tune. Researchers think this increase in soft singing during the dry months is tied to the bats' heightened territoriality, using the unique calls to mark personal foraging zones without physical fights.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSub-Saharan Africa
HabitatTropical savanna
DietInsects and fruit
About the Heart-nosed Bat
In the sweltering darkness of the African night, the heart-nosed bat unfurls its leathery wings, a silhouette of elegance as it takes to the skies with a soft whoosh. With its distinctive heart-shaped nose leaf, this intriguing creature navigates the shadows, its large eyes drinking in the faint glow of moonlit insects as it pursues its nocturnal hunt. As it flits and weaves through the trees, its high-pitched calls echoing through the stillness, the heart-nosed bat embodies the very essence of mystery and adaptation in the animal kingdom.
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