A 'private bandwidth' for communication in bats: Evidence from insular horseshoe bats

Do bats use their ultrasonic echolocation calls to recognise their own species? A new study in the Journal of Biogeography by Danilo Russo and colleagues suggests that this is certainly the case for horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae). These bats find their way in the dark and detect insect prey by emitting long ultrasound calls mainly made of a constant frequency. Different rhinolophid species show different frequency values. It has been proposed that such differences are large enough to allow recognition of conspecifics.