User:Annalee261/sandbox

The leaf-nosed bat article right now consists of a short intro and classifications. It does not include anything about the evolution of the group, where they got their name or distinctive characteristics of the bats in the group.

Behavior
Like other bats, leaf-nosed bats are nocturnal foragers that use echolocation to locate food sources, though the food sources they are locating vary between species. Many bats in family Phyllostomidae appear to have limited reliance on echolocation, likely because frugivorous bats do not need to quickly identify flying insects like many other bats. . Instead, species of leaf-nosed fruit bats appear to use scent to identify their prefered food sources.

When they are not foraging, leaf-nosed bats roost in abandoned buildings, caves, and beneath folded leaves depending on the species. Nearly every roosting option present among bats is represented within this family, including species that prefer to roost alone as well as species that roost with thousands of other individuals every day.

Social Behavior
Among species that roost in groups, there is evidence for a social hierarchy with higher ranking individuals gaining access to prefered areas of the site. Solitary roosting bats on the other hand, live alone and maintain a strict fidelity to a single roosting site. In some cases, males live alone or with harems while females prefer to roost with other individuals and their pups. In nearly every species that has been studied, mothers and pups maintain a social bond that lasts beyond nursing. It appears young bats can learn food preferences from their mothers and when they are reluctant to leave the nest, mothers will literally nudge the infants out of the roost.