Schneider's leaf-nosed bat

It was named after Johann Gottlob Schneider, a German classicist and naturalist who first observed it in 1800. == Description ==

This species is a small bat. The bat has three additional leaflets on its leaf-nose, with the outer one being smaller than the other two, and the well-developed lappets next to the nostrils are the external characteristics differentiating this species from other species in the genus Hipposideros. A frontal sac is also present above the leaf-nose. H. speoris varies in color from gray to orange-brown, with it being the palest between the shoulders and on the ventral side, and darker on the flanks and the posterior side. It possesses a tiny baculum, which is just 0.57 mm in length, with a blunt tip and slightly expanded base. == Biology ==

Reproduction The bat has a gestation period of 135–140 days, after which a single young is born. Diet The bat tends to fly slowly close to the ground and hunt for insects. It forages only while in flight and uses all available closed and edge habitat. Prey capture occurs mainly in edge vegetation bordering open space. The diet of this species consists mainly of coleopterans, dipterans, mosquitoes and other insects. Echolocation The echolocation signals of H. speoris lack an initial upward frequency-modulated sweep and are of moderate duration (5.1–8.7 ms). Sequences had high duty cycles (23–41%) and very high pulse repetition rates (22.8–60.6 Hz). Hipposiderid bats echolocate with combined CF/ FM-sounds at 127–138 kHz. == Distribution and habitat ==

The bat is found in India (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttarakhand), Sri Lanka, and more recently has also been recorded in Pyay, Myanmar. It has been recorded up to an elevation of above sea level. It is commonly found and widespread across its entire range, and roosts in groups of up to 1,000 individuals. The bats tend to roost in caves, caverns, underground cellars, old forts, palaces, under bridges, old disused buildings, temples, tunnels in dry plains or forested hillsides. While the bats in India are more scattered in the roosts, the bats in Sri Lanka roost together closely. == Conservation ==

The species is listed by the IUCN as least concern as it has a wide range, can tolerate many habitats, has a large population, and is not thought to be declining rapidly. The species is locally threatened in parts of India because of hunting for local consumption and medicinal purposes, persecution by fumigation, roost disturbance due to tourism related activities, stone quarrying, and developmental activities such as tearing down old disused buildings leading to loss of roosting sites. In Karnataka and Kerala, the species is threatened by the collection of the bats for food and medicine, while in Maharashtra, the species is threatened by disturbance caused by tourism and other human activities. No threats have been identified for the Sri Lankan populations of this bat. There are no conservation measures in place to protect the species, although the bat has been recorded from some protected areas across its range. ==References==