Rhinolophidae is one of the twenty families of bats in the mammalian order Chiroptera and part of the microbat suborder. A member of this family is called a rhinolophid or a horseshoe bat. They are named for the shape of their nose-leaf. They are found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, primarily in forests, savannas, grasslands, and caves, though some species can also be found in deserts or wetlands. They range in size from the Thai horseshoe bat and little Nepalese horseshoe bat, at 3 cm (1 in) plus a 1 cm (0.4 in) tail, to the Maclaud's horseshoe bat, at 10 cm (4 in) plus a 5 cm (2 in) tail. Like all bats, rhinolophids are capable of true and sustained flight, and have wing lengths ranging from 3 cm (1 in) in the Formosan lesser horseshoe bat and little Nepalese horseshoe bat, to 8 cm (3 in) in the great woolly horseshoe bat. They are all insectivorous and eat a variety of insects and spiders.[1] Most rhinolophids do not have population estimates, but the ones that do range from 900 adult individuals to 20,000. Twelve species—the Andaman horseshoe bat, Bornean woolly horseshoe bat, Guinean horseshoe bat, King horseshoe bat, Maclaud's horseshoe bat, Mount Mabu horseshoe bat, Poso horseshoe bat, Ruwenzori horseshoe bat, Timorese horseshoe bat, Willard's horseshoe bat, Yaeyama little horseshoe bat, and Ziama horseshoe bat—are categorized as endangered species, and Hill's horseshoe bat is categorized as critically endangered. These collectively make up almost fifteen percent of the species in the family.
The 92 extant species of Rhinolophidae are all included in a single genus, Rhinolophus. A few extinct prehistoric rhinolophid species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.[2]