Rhinolophus

Horseshoe bats are bats in the family Rhinolophidae. In addition to the single living genus, Rhinolophus, which has about 106 species, the extinct genus Palaeonycteris has been recognized. Horseshoe bats are closely related to the Old World leaf-nosed bats, family Hipposideridae, which have sometimes been included in Rhinolophidae. The horseshoe bats are divided into six subgenera and many species groups. The most recent common ancestor of all horseshoe bats lived 34–40 million years ago, though it is unclear where the geographic roots of the family are, and attempts to determine its biogeography have been indecisive. Their taxonomy is complex, as genetic evidence shows the likely existence of many cryptic species, as well as species recognized as distinct that may have little genetic divergence from previously recognized taxa. They are found in the Old World, mostly in tropical or subtropical areas, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

Rhinolophus

Lylambda (lylambda@gmail.com) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
RhinolophidaePBDB
Diet
insectivorePBDB, for Rhinolophidae
Life habit
volantPBDB, for Chiroptera
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Chiroptera

Time the record covers

At least 33 million years on record.

The record covers at least 33.9 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 56 Mya to 0 Mya.

Paleocene — about 0 of 132 occurrencesEocene — about 9 of 132 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 2 of 132 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 20 of 132 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 20 of 132 occurrencesPleistocene — about 74 of 132 occurrences57–55 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences55–53 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences53–51 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences51–50 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences50–48 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences48–46 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences46–44 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences44–42 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences42–40 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences38–36 Mya — about 3 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 4 occurrences34–32 Mya — about 1 occurrence32–30 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences30–29 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences25–23 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences23–21 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences21–19 Mya — about 1 occurrence19–17 Mya — about 2 occurrences17–15 Mya — about 1 occurrence15–13 Mya — about 2 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 2 occurrences11–9.5 Mya — about 3 occurrences9.5–7.6 Mya — about 4 occurrences7.6–5.7 Mya — about 4 occurrences5.7–3.8 Mya — about 12 occurrences3.8–1.9 Mya — about 23 occurrences1.9–0 Mya — about 67 occurrences33.9 Mya11.7 ka57 Mya0 Mya

132 occurrences of Rhinolophus on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

132 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

7 formations

Makapansgat — 24.20°S, 28.95°EColombacci — 44.22°N, 11.77°EKromdraai — 26.00°S, 27.75°EVille — 50.90°N, 6.45°EPerriere — 44.35°N, 1.73°EPerrière — 44.37°N, 1.73°ECórcoles — 40.47°N, 2.68°W

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The named rock units Rhinolophus has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 120 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Rhinolophus and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Rhinolophus and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

1,579 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 83 sites for Rhinolophus, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

70 references

Each of the 132 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 58 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Rhinolophus

Credit
Lylambda (lylambda@gmail.com)
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itRhinolophidae through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Lacépède 1799