Horseshoe bats (family Rhinolophidae) are a large family of bats including approximately 130 species grouped in 10 genera. They belong to the suborder Microchiroptera (microbats).
The Rhinolophidae family is sometimes divided into two families, the Rhinolophidae (horse-shoe bats) and Hipposideridae (Old World leaf-nosed bats). There is little question that these two groups of bats are closely related, but current practise is to classify them as subfamilies (Hipposiderinae and Rhinolophinae) in a single family. Many species are extremely difficult to distinguish.
All rhinolophids have leaf-like protuberances on their noses. In rhinolophines species, these take the shape of a horseshoe; in hipposiderine, they are leaf- or spear-like. They emit echolocation calls through these structures, which may serve to focus the sound. Most rhinolophids are dull brown or reddish brown in color. They vary in size from small to moderately large.
Rhinolophids inhabit temperate and tropical regions of southern Europe, Africa, and Asia south to northern and eastern Australia, including many Pacific islands. All species are insectivorous, capturing insects in flight. Their roost habits are diverse; some species are found in large colonies in caves, some prefer hollow trees, and others sleep in the open, among the branches of trees. Members of northern populations may hibernate during the winter; at least one species is migratory. Like many Vespertilionidae bats, females of some rhinolophid species mate during the fall and store the sperm over the winter, conceiving and gestating young beginning in the spring.
The Greater Horseshoebat is one of the rarest bats in Britain.
Woodchester Mansion is home to the horseshoebat's summer maternity roost, and it is the only breeding colony of the Greater Horseshoebats east of the Severn.
The Greater Horseshoebat is the largest and the longest living bat in Britain.
These bats tend to be much smaller, sometimes tiny, have tails (with the flying membrane stretching between the legs and tail), use echolocation, are broadly insectivorous and have only 1 claw on the forelimbs (Robson 2002).
When a bat rests, it hangs from the claws of one or both its forefeet and the arrangement of ligaments in the foot are such that no muscular effort is required.
Bats are second only in number to the rodents: about 40 percent of living mammal species are rodents, and about 20 percent are bats.
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