Nycteridae is one of the twenty families of bats in the mammalian order Chiroptera and part of the microbat suborder. Members of this family are called nycterids or slit-faced bats. They are found in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and southeastern Asia, primarily in forests and savannas, though some species can also be found in deserts, shrublands, grasslands, or caves. They range in size from the dwarf slit-faced bat, at plus a tail, to the large slit-faced bat, at plus a tail. Like all bats, nycterids are capable of true and sustained flight, and have forearm lengths ranging from to . They are all insectivorous and eat a variety of insects and spiders, and the large slit-faced bat also regularly eats fish, frogs, birds, and bats. No nycterids have population estimates or are categorized as endangered species.
The 14 extant species of Nycteridae are all contained in a single genus, Nycteris. A few extinct prehistoric nycterid species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.
Conventions
The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the nycterid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.
Classification The family Nycteridae consists of fourteen extant species in a single genus, Nycteris.
Nycterids The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN SSC Bat Specialist Group and the American Society of Mammalogists.
References Nowak, pp. 101–102
Wilson, Reeder, pp. 391–393
Chernasky; Motis; Burgin, pp. 489–490
Sources