Bonaparte, 1838
Mouse-tailed bats
This is a small family of insect-eating bats of primitive structure, found in the arid and semi-arid regions of southern Asia and northern Africa. It is monogeneric (one genus) and is generally thought to include three species (Koopman, 1993; but see also Khajuria, 1988 and Van Cakenberghe and De Vree, 1994). The tail is very long and slender, with the longest part projecting free from the membrane (Rha1). There is a thickened narial pad present on the end of the muzzle, surmounted by a distinct ridge-like dermal outgrowth (a rudimentary noseleaf) (BW6). The ears are joined across the forehead by a connecting membrane; each ear has a simple but well developed tragus. Both the second and third digits of each wing have two distinct bony phalanges. The skull is relatively short and broad and lacks postorbital processes (Rha7). The lachrymal region is swollen. Separate nasal inflations are present on each side of the rostrum. The premaxillae are separate from each other and from the adjacent part of the skull. The auditory bullae are relatively large. The teeth are of the normal insectivorous type; the upper incisor (I2) is very small (Fig. 41).
Dental formula: i - 2 - c 1 pm - - - 4 m 1 2 3 = 28
1 2 - 1 - 2 - 4 1 2 3
Genus of Rhinopomatidae encountered in the Indian Subcontinent:
Genus Rhinopoma