Lesser horseshoe bat
Rhinolophus hipposideros
elenakuraeva · Tbilisi Georgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Diet
- Insectivore: mosquitoes, small flies, moths
- Status in Georgia
- Native; the second most frequent cave bat
- Size
- Body 3.5–4.5 cm, weight 5–9 g
- Habitat
- Caves; woodland edge, valleys, wetland
- Family
- Rhinolophidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) is a tiny bat: its body is 3.5–4.5 cm long, its wingspan 19–25 cm and it weighs only 5–9 g. It has a fold of skin on its nose curved like a horseshoe, and it rests hanging upside down, wrapped in its wings. In Georgia's caves and other underground sites it comes second by number of records, after the greater horseshoe bat. It is known from both western and eastern Georgia, from Gagra and Sokhumi to Lagodekhi. It looks almost exactly like the greater horseshoe bat, and the difference is size. If a bat flies into your home, do not catch it with bare hands: open a window and give it time to leave.
Identification
Lesser horseshoe bat: how to identify it
A very small, brownish bat with a greyish belly and a horseshoe-shaped fold of skin on its nose. It rests hanging freely by its feet, with its wings wrapped around its body. The greater horseshoe bat does the same, so the two species are told apart mainly by size. The lesser horseshoe bat is the smallest horseshoe bat in Georgia.
Size is the main feature. The lesser horseshoe bat's forearm is shorter than 45 mm, its body 3.5–4.5 cm, its wingspan 19–25 cm and its weight 5–9 g. The greater horseshoe bat has a forearm longer than 45 mm, a body of 5.7–7.1 cm, a wingspan of 35–40 cm and weighs 13–34 g. In other words, the greater horseshoe bat is much heavier.
Its nose carries a horseshoe-shaped leaf of skin, which gives it its name. Its eyes are small, but it sees well. All horseshoe bats have the horseshoe-shaped noseleaf, so it does not help you tell the species apart.
In summer it often hangs alone in a warm roost, and in clusters of up to 150 in a colder one. It wraps its wings around its body and rests hanging freely, in winter often high up on the ceiling. The greater horseshoe bat rests the same way, so this feature only tells you that you are looking at a horseshoe bat.
Two medium-sized horseshoe bats also live in Georgia: the Mediterranean horseshoe bat (body 4.3–5.8 cm, 8–17.5 g) and Blasius's horseshoe bat (forearm 43–48 mm). In size they come very close to the lesser horseshoe bat, so they are told apart only by exact measurement. The lesser horseshoe bat calls at 93–111 kHz, loudest at about 110 kHz, but its calls overlap with the Mediterranean horseshoe bat's, so echolocation does not separate them easily either. Do not catch a bat to measure it: that is a job for specialists.
Colour
The back is smoky brown and the belly grey. The hairs are pale grey at the base. The ears and wing membranes are light greyish-brown. Young bats are dark grey all over.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
The lesser horseshoe bat lives in sheltered valleys, woodland edge, pasture and wetland. It hunts close to dense vegetation, mainly in broadleaf woodland, often near water or in damp places. It spends the winter in caves, tunnels, old buildings and sometimes cellars. Summer roosts are known up to 1,160 m, and winter roosts up to 2,000 m. It has 65 records from Georgia's underground sites; only the greater horseshoe bat has more. It has been found in many places: in Abkhazia near Gagra, near Sokhumi and in the Pskhu-Gumista reserve, near Zugdidi, near Kutaisi and in Sataplia Cave, near Tsageri, at Mtsvane Kontskhi, near Abastumani, near Uplistsikhe, near Mtskheta and Dusheti, in Tbilisi, and near Kvareli, Lagodekhi and Bolnisi. These are records, not a sign that it is common everywhere in these places.
The lesser horseshoe bat map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. So far no region has enough records to be marked as part of the range.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
The lesser horseshoe bat feeds on small insects, above all mosquitoes, midges and other small flies. It also eats moths and spiders. It hunts fast and nimbly, often less than 5 m above the ground. It catches insects in the air, picks them off stones and branches, and sometimes waits for them from a perch. It spends much more time feeding than the greater horseshoe bat.
It hibernates from October to April in dark caves and tunnels. At that time it hangs alone, but close to others. In spring and autumn it is active in its roost even by day. It usually travels 5–10 km between its winter and summer roosts, and the longest recorded movement is 153 km. Mating takes place in autumn. From April females gather in nursery colonies of a few to several hundred animals. Each female has a single young between mid-June and early July, weighing about 1.8 g at birth. The young opens its eyes at about 10 days and becomes independent at 6–7 weeks. Some females breed at just one year old. It lives about 3 years on average, though some live much longer.
Globally the lesser horseshoe bat is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016). The main threats are disturbance and destruction of roosts, insecticides that reduce its food, and the loss of foraging habitat. In Europe it is protected under the Habitats Directive, listed in the Bern Convention and covered by the EUROBATS agreement. Where it has been protected, it has recovered: in Britain its numbers grew by an average of 4.5% a year in 1999–2012. In Georgia the 2021 national assessment rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. It is an Emerald Network priority species. Georgia's cave bats are threatened most by human disturbance, by damage to caves or their use for other purposes, and by light pollution.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes, and in many places. It has 65 records from Georgia's caves and other underground sites; only the greater horseshoe bat has more. It has been found in both west and east: near Gagra and Sokhumi, near Kutaisi, in Sataplia Cave, near Uplistsikhe, in Tbilisi, and near Kvareli and Lagodekhi.
By size. The lesser horseshoe bat's body is 3.5–4.5 cm long and weighs 5–9 g, while the greater's is 5.7–7.1 cm and 13–34 g. The lesser has a forearm shorter than 45 mm, the greater a longer one. Both hang wrapped in their wings and have a horseshoe-shaped noseleaf. The Mediterranean and Blasius's horseshoe bats, which fall between them in size, are told apart only by measurement.
It will not attack you, but do not touch it with bare hands. A bat bite can be tiny and easy to miss. Rabies cannot be ruled out by appearance, although most bats people see are not rabid. After a bite or scratch, wash the spot with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and see a doctor; in an emergency, call 112.
Stay calm and take children and pets out of the room. Close the doors to other rooms, open an outside window or door wide and switch off unnecessary lights. Then step back and give it time: a bat usually finds the way out on its own. Do not try to catch a bat in flight.
Small insects, above all mosquitoes and other small flies, as well as moths and spiders. It flies low, up to 5 m above the ground, and also picks insects off stones and branches. It hunts close to dense vegetation, often by water.
It is not threatened, but it needs care. Globally, and in Georgia's 2021 national assessment, it is rated Least Concern (LC). It is an Emerald Network priority species, and in Europe it is protected under the Habitats Directive. Disturbance of its roosts harms it most, so do not disturb sleeping bats.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
