A horseshoe bat from north-east and southern Africa described over a century and a half ago, whose identity was revised very recently: genetic studies in 2024 separated it from Geoffroy's Horseshoe Bat, with which it was confused, leaving it as a distinct species that is yet to be formally assessed.
A medium-sized horseshoe bat featuring the characteristic horseshoe-shaped nasal structure of the genus. Distinguishing it from Geoffroy's Horseshoe Bat, from which it was split very recently, requires careful comparison or genetic analysis, as both share much of their range and overall appearance.
A broad swathe of Africa, from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia southwards to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Like other horseshoe bats, it roosts in caves and other subterranean cavities.
Insectivorous. It hunts flying insects using constant-frequency echolocation, like the rest of the genus.
Forming colonies in caves and subterranean roosts, it is active by night. Its detailed biology has barely been studied independently from that of Geoffroy's Horseshoe Bat, from which it was recently split.
As it has only very recently been recognised as an independent species, it does not yet have its own assessment on the IUCN Red List.
Specific threats to this newly defined species are unknown. By analogy with other African horseshoe bats, disturbance to caves could pose a local risk.
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