Great Roundleaf Bat
Hipposideros armiger
Its elaborate noseleaf acts like an acoustic lens, focusing high-frequency echolocation calls to detect tiny insects in dense forest clutter.
- Scientific name
- Hipposideros armiger
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Chiroptera › Hipposideridae › Hipposideros
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- cave
- Habitat
- Subtropical and tropical forest zones, roosting primarily in deep caves, rock crevices, and occasionally old buildings.
- Diet
- Large insects, primarily beetles, moths, cicadas, and termites.
- Range
- China, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia
- Size
- Forearm length of 80-100 mm, wingspan up to 50 cm, weighing 40-60 grams.
- Lifespan
- 10 to 15 years
- Active
- nocturnal
- Threats
- Disturbance of cave roosts by tourism and guano harvesting, deforestation, and pesticide reduction of insect prey.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless but defensive if handled. If encountered roosting in a cave, maintain a safe distance of at least 5 meters, keep voices low, and do not shine direct white lights at them. If bitten or scratched, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and running water for 15 minutes and seek immediate medical attention due to the risk of rabies.
The great roundleaf bat ( Hipposideros armiger ) is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae found in China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Photo: 林正文, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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