Small horseshoe this is a type of bat. He got his name due to compact dimensions and skin-chryshenschens around the nostrils. In their form, they resemble the horseshoe. For an animal, this is not just a characteristic feature, but a difficultly formed device for the supply of echoilocation signals.
Description
Small horseshoes differ from other species in a single lifestyle. The exception is the birth period. At this time, they form colonies, the number of which can reach 100 individuals. It is interesting to note that females prevail in such groups. Males prefer even in such a period to stay detached. In winter, all individuals live single, but at the same time they keep near each other.
For reference: representatives of this type are considered sedentary animals. They can move by a maximum of 10 km. They go to mini-travels only when it is required to change the seasonal dwelling. That is, in summer and winter.
They prefer insects as food. They catch them with echolocation. Its range is 100-110 kHz. The maximum duration of ultrasound reaches 30 milliseconds. It is worth noting that each individual has an individual voice, which allows them to distinguish their own from strangers.
Bats have enemies. Hawks, owls, cats, forest martens are hunting for small horseshoes. Most often, the birds eat them, because because of their slow flight, bats are quite vulnerable to predators.
Representatives of this species in a limbo sleep are sleeping. This position allows you to quickly go into flight in case of danger. In winter, they hibernate. Dark rooms are chosen as a shelter: cellars, caves, grottoes, attics of abandoned buildings, hollows of trees.
Appearance
From other bats, this species differs in small sizes. The length of his body is only 4 cm, and the tail is 2.5 cm. The weight of the small hillock barely reaches 4 g. The body weight of adults is often 7-8 kg.
The saddle of the leathery outgrowth of the nose has a rectangular shape. Wingspan 23 cm. The ears are large and pointed from above. There is no goat. The wool is thick. Its shade varies from brown-brown to gray-brown. The abdomen has a lighter tone.
For reference: an interesting feature of the small horseshoe is wings with wings at a time when it is in a calm state.
Red Book
Despite the fact that the small horseshoe inhabit the significant territory, its population is rapidly reduced. Because of this, he was listed in the Red Book, where he was awarded the 3rd security category. It means a vulnerable and rare appearance.
For reference: Small horsetenship is listed on the red list of MSOP-96.
Where it lives
Representatives of this species have a wide habitat. Particularly common in the western and central part of the Palearctic. There is also in North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. You can also find small horseshoes in East Africa. In Eurasia, such bats live in the Ciscaucasia and the North Caucasus, in the Krasnodar Territory and Dagestan.
For reference: representatives of this species prefer to settle in a mountainous area, at an altitude of up to 2000 m. above sea level.
The territory of Belarus is an exceptionally rare view. There are 2 references to cases of finds of such bats in a given area. This species was first caught in the early 1930s in g. Lida of the Grodno region. In 1998, small horseshoes were discovered on the fort. Brest. More cases of detection of this species in Belarus were not recorded.
