Lavia frons (Fig. 1) is distinguished from all other African bats except Cardioderma cor in having a large, erect noseleaf, a divided tragus, and large ears that are basally united across the top of the head. Lavia frons differs from Cardioderma cor by having a long (ca. 20 mm) noseleaf that is bluntly truncated at its tip and a tragus with the inner lobe sharply pointed and the outer lobe pointed and >0.5 the length of the ear. Cardioderma has a shorter noseleaf, <15 mm, and a tragus with the inner lobe quadrate or rounded and the outer lobe pointed but <0.5 the length of the ear (Hayman and Hill, 1971). Lavia also has distinctive coloration, with yellowish ears and flight membranes and blue to slaty gray fur.
