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| Horseshoe bats | |
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| Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) with blue metallic identification band on left wing | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Rhinolophidae Gray, 1825 |
| Subfamily: | Rhinolophinae Gray, 1825 |
| Genus: | Rhinolophus Lacépède, 1799 |
| Type species | |
| Vespertilio ferrum-equinum Schreber, 1774 | |
| Species | |
Rhinolophidae is a family of bats commonly known as horseshoe bats. There is also an extinct genus of bats, Palaeonycteris. Horseshoe bats are closely related to the Hipposideridae. Horseshoe bats are divided into six subgenera and many species groups. The common ancestor of all horseshoe bats lived 34–40 million years ago. Horseshoe bats are found mostly in tropical or subtropical areas, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
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