Hipposideros cyclops
| Cyclops roundleaf bat | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Hipposideridae |
| Genus: | Hipposideros |
| Species: | H. cyclops |
| Binomial name | |
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Hipposideros cyclops (Temminck, 1853) |
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| Cyclops roundleaf bat range | |
The cyclops roundleaf bat, or cyclops leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros cyclops), is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae found in the forests of equatorial Africa.
Cyclops roundleaf bats are relatively small, with adults ranging from 10 to 13 centimetres (3.9 to 5.1 in) in total length, including a tail approximately 3 centimetres (1.2 in) long. With an average weight of 35 grams (1.2 oz), females are significantly larger than males at just 29 grams (1.0 oz). The body is covered in thick woolly fur, which is a dark brown in colour, grizzled with lighter flecks on the tips of the hairs. The wings are very dark brown, almost black, in colour.
The ears are long and narrowly pointed. The nose-leaf has a distinctive shape, with a rounded horseshoe shape over the muzzle and a posterior leaf with two projections on each side. Both parts of the leaf also possess small club-like structures projecting from their mid-line. The "cyclops" part of the bat's name comes from the presence of a narrow circular opening in the centre of the forehead, just behind, and normally hidden by, the nose-leaf. This opening leads to a small glandular sac lined with white hairs, which produces a waxy substance of unknown function.
Males possess scent gland on the perineum, producing a clear fluid with a musky smell. Females have two true nipples on the chest, and an additional, non-functional, pair on the abdomen, providing additional support for the young.
The cyclops roundleaf bat is found through much of equatorial Africa. It is found along the southern coast of West Africa from Senegal and Gambia eastward to Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, and across the northern and western parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, through Uganda and Rwanda to the eastern coasts of Kenya and Tanzania. It inhabits tropical forests at elevations up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). In addition to dense forest, the bat is also found in isolated forest patches on the edges of the savannah, and in artificial plantations.
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Wikipedia