biology

Hairy slit-faced bat

Hairy slit-faced bat is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hairy slit-faced bat rather than just read about it. In short: The hairy slit-faced bat (Nycteris hispida) is a species of slit-faced bat widely distributed throughout forests and savannas in Africa. Various forest populations in western and central Africa may represent separate species, although this had not been confirmed as of 2007.

Key takeaways

Hairy slit-faced bat belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hairy slit-faced bat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hairy slit-faced bat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The hairy slit-faced bat (Nycteris hispida) is a species of slit-faced bat widely distributed throughout forests and savannas in Africa. Various forest populations in western and central Africa may represent separate species, although this had not been confirmed as of 2007. Two recognized subspecies exist:

N. h. hispida N. h. pallida

Taxonomy The hairy slit-faced bat, Nycteris hispida, is a species of bat in the family Nycteridae and genus Nycteris. The species was originally described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1774 under the name Vespertilio hispidus. Its current scientific name is Nycteris hispida (von Schreber, 1774). The type locality is recorded as Senegal. The genus Nycteris is the only genus in the family Nycteridae. Members of this family are commonly known as "slit-faced bats" and are characterised by a distinctive longitudinal slit on the muzzle. Nycteris hispida is currently recognised as a living species and is included in the order Chiroptera.

Description It is a small bat in the family Nycteridae. It has a distinctive facial structure, with a deep slit running along the muzzle towards the nostrils and a prominent nose-leaf surrounding the slit. Its ears are relatively long, although they are shorter than those of some other slit-faced bats, and they are connected near their bases by a membrane. The species has small eyes, broad wings and a long tail ending in a characteristic T-shaped tip formed by cartilage. The fur is generally long and brown, with the underparts usually paler or greyer, while the wings and ears are darker. The forearm measures approximately 36–45 mm, and the ears are about 18–25 mm long. The species has a distinctive dental formula of 2/3, 1/1, 1/2, 3/3, giving a total of 32 teeth. Like other slit-faced bats, N. hispida uses echolocation to navigate and locate prey. Its broad wings allow it to fly with considerable manoeuvrability, and it feeds mainly on insects, including moths and other small insects captured in flight or gleaned from surfaces.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hairy slit-faced bat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hairy slit-faced bat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hairy slit-faced bat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hairy slit-faced bat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hairy slit-faced bat

In research: Hairy slit-faced bat appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hairy slit-faced bat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hairy slit-faced bat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bat stubs, Bats of Africa, IUCN Red List least concern species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hairy slit-faced bat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hairy slit-faced bat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hairy slit-faced bat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hairy slit-faced bat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hairy slit-faced bat in simple terms?

Why does Hairy slit-faced bat matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hairy slit-faced bat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hairy slit-faced bat.