FAMILY NYCTERIDAE (SLIT-FACED BATS)

Identification

Deep vertical slit in middle of face

Tail ending in T-shaped cartilage

Extremely large ears

Tiny eyes

Food

Spiders, scorpions, moths, frogs, fish, even small birds and bats

Roosts

Tree hollows, caves, road culverts, buildings, dense foliage, aardvark burrows

Number of species worldwide: 13 (occur in Old World only)

Number of species in Southern Africa: 5

Common slit-faced bats in KZN

Common slit-faced bat  -  Nycteris thebaica