Hipposideros vittatus (Peters, 1852)

I did say we'd have a short interruption to the string of invertebrates... and here it is.

Eukaryota
  Animalia
    Eumetazoa
      Bilateralia
        Nephrozoa
          Deuterostomia
            Chordata
              Craniata
                Vertebrata
                  Gnathostomata
                    Teleostomi
                      Osteichthys
                        Sarcopterygii
                          Tetrapoda
                            Reptiliomorpha
                              Amniota
                                Synapsida
                                  Eupelycosauria
                                    Sphenocodontia
                                      Sphenocodontoidae
                                        Therapsida
                                          Theriodontia
                                            Cynodontia
                                              Mammalia
                                                Theria
                                                  Eutheria
                                                    Boreotheria
                                                      Laurasiatheria
                                                         Ferungulata
                                                           Pegasoferae
                                                             Chiroptera
                                                               Pteropodiformes
                                                                 Rhinolophoidea
                                                                   Hipposideridae
                                                                     

Hipposideros vittatus   

(Peters, 1852)

I'd been using an - as it turns out - quite out of date identification guide, which was printed at a time when this species, although long since proposed, was still considered part of Hipposideros commersoni. Imagine my surprise when, double-checking that I had the species right, I discovered that I had saved images of a mainland bat labelled as a Madagascar endemic...

Quite a few species have been split out from H. commersoni, but H. vittatus seems to remain fairly distinctive with its bright, white shoulder patches and pale shading on either side of its rump - and, from all other Hipposideros sp. known from Zambia, its size (to over two feet across its wings) is a good distinguishing feature.