he _Rhinolophidae_ are the most highly organized of insectivorous
bats, in which the osseous and cutaneous systems reach the fullest
development. Compared with theirs, the bones of the extremities and
the wings of other bats appear coarsely formed, and their teeth seem
less perfectly fitted to crush the hard bodies of insects. The
complicated nasal appendages reach their highest development, and the
differences in their form afford characters in the discrimination of
the species, which resemble one another closely in dentition and the
colour of the fur.

In the first subfamily, _Rhinolophinae_, the first toe has two, and
the other toes three phalanges each; and the ilio-pectineal spine is
not connected by bone with the antero-inferior surface of the ilium.
In the horseshoe bats, _Rhinolophus_, the dentition is i. 1/2, c. 1/1,
p. 2/3, m. 3/8, the nose-leaf has a central process behind and between
the nasal orifices, with the posterior extremity lanceolate, and the
antitragus large. Among the numerous forms _R. luctus_ is the largest,
and inhabits elevated hill-tracts in India and Malaysia; _R.
hipposiderus_ of Europe, extending into south England and Ireland, is
one of the smallest; and _R. ferrum-equinum_ represents the average
size of the species, which are mainly distinguished from one another
by the form of the nose-leaf. The last-named species extends from
England to Japan, and southward to the Cape of Good Hope, but is
represented by a number of local races. When sleeping, the horseshoe
bats, at least in some instances, suspend themselves head downwards,
with the wings wrapped round the body after the manner of fruit bats.
The posture of ordinary bats is quite different, and while the lesser
horseshoe (_R. hipposiderus_) alights from the air in an inverted
position, other bats, on first coming to rest, do so with the head
upwards, and then reverse their position.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Head of Squirrel Leaf-Bat (_Phyllorhina
calcarata_). From Dobson.]

[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Head of Persian Leaf-Bat. (_Triaenops
persicus_). From Dobson.]

In the second subfamily, _Hippo-siderinae_ (formerly called
_Phyllorhinae_), the toes are equal and include two phalanges each,
while the ilio-pectineal spine is united by a bony isthmus with a
process derived from the antero-inferior surface of the ilium.
_Hipposiderus, Cloeeotis, Rhinonycteris, Tria