There are no fossil specimens discovered of this species.
These bats, like most other bats, use echolocation for finding prey. However, like other gleaning bats, their echolocation calls are not strong and as a result this species is often called a “whispering” bat. The echolocation that they produce has low intensity, and is multi-harmonic. Echolocation is used when they are assessing the area around them, especially for prey location.
This species uses eyesight more than some bats, probably as compensation for its weak echolocation ability.
In addition to calls used for echolocation, researchers have identified two long tonal calls made by these bats. One is made in a roost and appears to attract other bats to the source of the call. The other call is made when bats leave the roost.
As in other mammals, tactile and chemical communication probably play some role in mating and parental care.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; ultrasound ; echolocation ; chemical
There is little available information on the conservation status of N. thebaica. No information was found on either the IUCN Red List or CITES. These bats are not located in the United States and therefore are not found on the US Federal List.
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no known adverse effects of this species on humans.
There is no known positive economic importance of this species for humans.
As predators, these bats are likely to have some impact on insect populations. As prey, they may have a positive effect on their predators. In addition, N. thebaica is host for many parasites, including helminths, nematodes, trematodes, and standard mammalian ectoparasites. Mites infecting the margins of the ears are common in this species, and can cause individuals to damage their membranes from scratching. These bats may be an important reservoir host for nematode larvae in the suborder Spirurata, since these neoatodes use insects--the prey of the bats-- as intermediate hosts.
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
The diet of these bats is variable and dependent on geographic location and season.
This species eats a mixture of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths). They also feed on other insects and spiders. A major portion of their diet consists of scorpions when available. Other key components of their diet include: orthopterans and coleopterans. There are also numerous prey organisms that are only a minor part of their diet, such as: araneidans, dipterans, hemipterans, homopterans, hymenopterans, isopterans, and neuropterans.
The feeding habits vary. Nycteris thebaica preys on organisms while flying, or observes them while hanging upside down from a tree and then goes after the prey. As these bats hang from a tree, they observe the surrounding area for prey. Their enormous ears are used to detect any noise made by potential prey. Once it hears a potential prey item, an individual bat will go after the area where the sound came from. In addition to their ears, they use their eyes (since echolocation is weak for these bats) to locate their prey.
This species also preys on insects that are not moving, such as on the ground, walls, rocks, lights, and vegetation. Small prey will be eaten on the spot, but larger prey will be taken to a tree and eaten while the bat is hanging. Their uropatagium is a tool that they use to bring their prey to their mouth. The females leave the roost at dusk (with their young) to go on regular hunts for food.
Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )
Egyptian slit-faced bats are found throughout Africa and parts of southern Europe. They range from South Africa up through Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, and to the island of Corfu. Nycteris thebaica is not found much outside of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native ); ethiopian (Native )
Other Geographic Terms: holarctic
This species is most often found in dry habitat types, such as savanna woodland areas. However, they are found in various other habitat types.
These bats use a wide variety of roost sites, including caves, mine tunnels, tombs, military bunkers, masonary fireplaces, buildings, ruins, culverts, abandoned wells, pit latrines, root cavities, rock crevices, hollow trees, dense foliage, rocky outcrops, and sometimes the burrows of porcupines or aardvarks. Often times they separate roost sites for night and day. The selection of such a site is dependent on where they can find cool temperatures.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; rainforest
Other Habitat Features: caves
There is little information about the lifespan and longevity of this species other than observations of those that have been kept in captivity.
Egyptian slit-faced bats do not do well in captivity. When given food and water they will eat the food, but will not touch the water, and as a result it is not uncommon for them to die of dehydration.
It is likely that individuals of this species live for many years, as most microchiropterans are long lived.
Pelage tends to be long and silky, with a range of colors from gray, to light red, to murky brown, with a white to light grey stomach. Compared to other members of Nycteridae, this species has lighter pelage. Typically any animal that lives in dry habitats has a lighter pelage compared to those that live in wet habitats.
This species varies greatly in body mass from 6.5 to 16 grams, and the total body length ranges from 83 to 168 mm, with a wingspan of 270 to 307 mm. Females tend to be larger than males. These bats have enormous ears that are longer than their total head length. Surprisingly, they have a very small tragus in relation to the size of their ears. An extensive nose leaf is also present, with a split in the middle. In proportion to their body size, they have a long tail, which is totally enclosed in a membrane called the uropatagium. The tip of the tail and uropatagium forms the shape of a "T", which is a distinctive characteristic of the family Nycteridae.
The dental formula for this species is I 2/3, C 1/1, P 1/2, M 3/3 = 32. Incisors are chisel-like in shape, and molars are small. Their P4 is so small it is almost not visible because it is hidden by P2 and M1. These bats are diphyodont, meaning there are two sets of teeth, one set of milk teeth, and another set of adult teeth. Nycteris thebaica is unique from other bats in that it retains its milk teeth outside of the womb. It is not uncommon for their milk teeth to be present for a short period of time with their first adult teeth.
Range mass: 6.5 to 16 g.
Range length: 83 to 168 mm.
Range wingspan: 270 to 307 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger
There is little available information on predation of this species. It is possible that they are prey to snakes as well as to some birds, including bat hawks, Machaerhamphus alcinus. Many members of the genus Nycteris asre reported to flutter around roosts, which could make them vulnerable to small mammals as well.
When the young are unable to fly, females take their young with them when they go hunting, as a way to avoid predators.
The mating systems of bats in the genus Nycteris have not been reported.
The reproductive cycles of females and males coincide, starting in March.
In populations in South Africa, females enter estrus in June. During this time breeding takes place. Gestation lasts between 2.4 to 6 months and takes place from June to November. Implantation of the fetus may not occur until as late as 16 days after mating. In tropical habitats, gestation is typically only 2.5 to 3 months. In more subtropical and temperate regions gestation usually lasts 5 months. This long period of gestation can be a result of the temperature or low resource availability. Females give birth during the month of November.
Lactation in related bats, Nycteris macrotis lasts for two months. It is likey that N. thebaica is similar.
The average body mass at birth is 6 g.
Breeding interval: In general, these bats breed once a year during the warmer months. However, many tropical populations have been known to have more than one breeding cycle.
Breeding season: Populations in South Africa breed in May and June.
Range number of offspring: 1 (high) .
Range gestation period: 2.5 to 6 months.
Average weaning age: 2 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous ; delayed implantation
The young when born are unable to fly. Neonates cling to their mother and travel with her while she goes on her daily quest for food starting in the early morning. This strategy is known to be a way of keeping the young clear of predators. At this stage the young weighs about half of the mother’s body mass.
Mothers provide the bulk of parental care in this species. The role of males in parental care has not been documented.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
Narrow (Nile Valley, Delta and Sinai).
Native, resident.
The Egyptian slit-faced bat (Nycteris thebaica) is a species of slit-faced bat broadly distributed throughout Africa and the Middle East. It is a species of microbat in the family Nycteridae. Six subspecies are known.[1]
The Egyptian slit-faced bat gets its name from a deep slit that runs from the base of the ears to the nostrils, between the nose leaves. The bats typically weigh 6.5–9.7 g (0.23–0.34 oz), with females weighing up to 11.5 g (0.41 oz).[2] The wings are broad, with a wingspan of 283 mm (11.1 in) and a low aspect ratio, allowing for high maneuverability and the ability to hover close to the ground.[2][3]
The dorsal surface is dusky to reddish brown, while the underside is white to whitish gray. This bat has lighter fur than other members of the nycterid family. It has a long tail, reaching to 61 mm (2.4 in).[2]
This species is able to thrive in a variety of tropical and temperate habitats throughout Africa and the Arabian peninsula.[2] A specimen of an Egyptian silt-faced bat was found on the island of Corfu, Greece; making it the first record of the animal in Europe.[4] It can live in widely diverse habitats, including forests, deserts, savannas, shrublands, and grasslands.[1]
The uterine horns open into the vagina through separate vaginal canals, forming a uterus duplex. The placenta also lacks a hemophagous area, a structure which aids in endocytosis and digestion of erythrocytes.[5] The gestation period varies depending on climate, lasting 2–3 months in tropical areas, while lasting up to 5 months in temperate climates. At birth, this species weighs about 50% of the mother’s weight. The females fly, carrying their young, between roosts to keep them safe from predators.[2]
Unlike most bats, N. thebaica is not heterothermic, displaying no evidence of hibernation or torpor behaviors. One explanation for this might be that hibernation makes N. thebaica highly vulnerable to predation. In particular, the large slit-faced bat is known to prey on roosting Egyptian slit-faced bats.[6]
Egyptian slit-faced bats form roosting colonies numbering from a few to thousands of other members. Because they can maneuver in crowded habitats, they are able to occupy caves and holes that cannot be accessed by other bat species.[2] While the bats do form a communal roost, individuals do not huddle together to conserve energy and warmth.[6] They occupy two roosts, using the daytime roost to rest, while only spending a few hours in the night roost before going out to forage.[7] They have a long-night foraging period, lasting several hours.[6]
The bats use high-frequency and low-intensity echolocation calls to locate prey. The low wing loading and low aspect ratio allows them to hover and swipe prey from the ground or from the tops of trees. They are generalist-opportunistic feeders, meaning they consume a wide range of prey, according to prey availability and season.[3] The different insect groups these bats tend to consume are: Coleoptera during the spring, Orthoptera during the summer, Hemiptera in autumn, and Lepidoptera during the winter.[8] Insects comprise the bulk o this bat's diet;[2] this flexible diet allows them to thrive in a wide variety of habitats.
N. thebaica is observed to have a relatively long lifespan, with captive females surviving at least five years. While juvenile bats have a high mortality rate, after the first year, the species has a high rate of survival.[7]
The Egyptian slit-faced bat (Nycteris thebaica) is a species of slit-faced bat broadly distributed throughout Africa and the Middle East. It is a species of microbat in the family Nycteridae. Six subspecies are known.
