Rhinonicteris aurantius Click to enlarge image
Orange Leaf-nosed Bat Male, Pine Ck N.T 1983 clinging on wall Image: G B Baker
© Australian Museum

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Rhinonicteris
    Species
    aurantius
    Family
    Hipposideridae
    Order
    Chiroptera
    Subclass
    Eutheria
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia

Introduction

Orange Leaf-nosed Bats are very sensitive to people disturbing them in their roosts. They will often not return to a roost if it is disturbed more than a few times.

Habitat

Orange Leaf-nosed Bats prefer warm humid caves, although some have been found in hollow tree trunks and roost together in colonies that can be as small as 20 or as large as a few thousand bats.

Distribution


Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia

Feeding and diet

Orange Leaf-nosed Bats feed mainly on moths, but also on beetles, weevils, bugs, wasps and ants. They often feed close to their roost site, returning to the roost several times during the night's feeding.

Economic impacts

Orange Leaf-nosed Bats are vulnerable to disturbance from human visitors to cave roosts, destruction of caves by mining, and loss of feeding habitat by clearing and land degradation from agriculture.