By Nancy Shefferly
Geographic Range
This species is found in northern and northwestern Australia.
Biogeographic Regions:
australian 
(native ); arctic ocean (native ).
Habitat
This species is very selective in choosing hot, humid roosting sites. Roosts have been reported to be 30-32 C with 90-100% relative humidity. Golden horseshoe bats forage in open woodlands near their roosting caves.
Terrestrial Biomes:
forest ; rainforest .
Physical Description
The golden horseshoe bat typically has bright orange pelage, but regional variants occur. The head and body length of this bat averages 50mm, with an average tail length of 25mm. The species is sexually dimorphic in size, with females weighing significantly less than males (females average 7.6g, whereas males average 8.4 g).
Some key physical features:
endothermic ; bilateral symmetry .
Reproduction
Little is known about the reproductive cycle of the golden horseshoe bat. The animal is thought to breed during the wet season, which in Northern Australia is from October through April.
Key reproductive features:
gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual .
Behavior
Information on the social behavior of this species is scant. The golden horseshoe bat typically roosts in abandoned mine shafts and caves in colonies comprising several hundred individuals. Smaller colonies may roost in the hollows of eucalyptus trees. The largest reported colony comprized more than 11250 individuals. While roosting, individuals maintain a distance of 12-15 centimeters from conspecifics. Two species are known to cohabit with the golden horseshoe bat. Hipposideros ater, the dusky horeshoe bat,is the most common cohabitator, but Macroderma gigas, the ghost bat, and bent-winged bats have also been observed to occupy Rhinonicteris roosts.
Key behaviors:
motile .
Food Habits
The golden horseshoe bat is insectivorous. These animals emerge from their roosting sites 0.5 to1.5 hours after sunset. They forage for insect prey while flying one to three meters above the vegetation. Primary prey items of this species include moths and beetles, but shield bugs, parasitic wasps, ants and weevils are also eaten.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
May help to control the populations of harmful insects.
Conservation Status
There is insufficient knowledge of this species to accurately determine its status. Rhinonicteris aurantia is the only species in the genus, and it has a limited geographic distribution. Its status has been described as sparse. There is an annecdotal account of an attempt to preserve roosting habitat. One colony of about 5000 bats was heavily visited by tourists. Conservationists, fearing the fate of bats so frequently disturbed by humans, placed a mesh screen over the opening to the cave in order to keep tourists out while allowing the bats free access to and from the cave. Unfortunately, the plan did not work. The bat population decreased drastically after the mesh screen was erected. It has since been removed, and the bat colony has stabilized at about 2000 individuals.
Contributors
Nancy Shefferly (author), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
