Intermediate horseshoe bat

A medium-sized horseshoe bat distributed across South, Southeast, and East Asia, from India to China and Indonesia. Adults weigh 10–20 g. They have warm brown to reddish-brown fur and the elaborate horseshoe-shaped noseleaf typical of the genus, used for directing nasal echolocation calls. They roost in caves, tunnels, and mines, often in large colonies. Nocturnal aerial insectivores, they employ high-duty-cycle CF echolocation to detect fluttering insects in cluttered habitats such as forest understory. Like R. sinicus, this species is an important reservoir of SARS-related betacoronaviruses. A virus closely related to SARS-CoV-2 (designated RaTG13) was isolated from R. affinis in Yunnan, China, further establishing horseshoe bats as the probable evolutionary source of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. They are also hosts of various other viruses of zoonotic potential. Females produce a single pup per year, with a gestation of ~2–3 months. They can live 10–15+ years. IUCN: Least Concern across most of their range, though local populations may be affected by cave disturbance and roost destruction.