This family has only recently been recognised (Foley et al. 2015); within our region it includes the genera Cloeotis and Triaenops. Members of this family typically have a prominent noseleaf that is three-pronged in shape (Figure 80b), but lacks the single, triangular erect process of the Rhinolophidae (Figure 97). Cloeotis and Triaenops are represented by single species in this region. Both genera are immediately recognisable by their unique three-pronged noseleaf.

Description: Cloeotis percivali is a very small bat with a mass of 4–5 g. The pelage is normally sandy-brown on the back and head, while the underparts are lighter. Dark markings surround the eyes. The wings are dark grey. It is distinguished by its noseleaf, a feature shared with the far larger Triaenops afer. The posterior part of the noseleaf is characteristically three-pronged. The ears are small, almost circular and forward-facing. The sexes are alike.

The skull is delicate with weak zygomatic arches. The rostral swellings are well developed, resulting in a rounded rostral profile. The frontal depression is shallow without defined supraorbital ridges. The sagittal crest is weak or absent and the palatal bridge is long. The dental formula is 1123/2123 = 30.

Key identification features: The three-pronged noseleaf distinguishes Triaenops afer and Cloeotis percivali from all other bats in the region. However, T. afer (FA > 48 mm) is significantly larger than C. percivali (FA < 37 mm).

Echolocation call: Cloeotis percivali produces HD-CF calls with a high peak frequency (207.8±3 kHz, n = 6) and intermediate duration (4.6±1.2 ms, n = 6) (Schoeman and Jacobs 2008; also see Fenton and Bell 1981, Taylor 1999a, Jacobs 2000, Monadjem et al. 2007, 2017, Webala et al. 2019). Besides the second harmonic, the fundamental harmonic is often present on the spectrogram at around 104 kHz.

Distribution, habitat and roosting: Cloeotis percivali is sparsely distributed in the northeast of southern Africa (Cotterill 2001a). It occurs from northern KwaZulu-Natal, through Eswatini and northern South Africa to Zimbabwe, Zambia and the southern DRC. Suitable climatic conditions appear to exist through much of KwaZulu-Natal and the northern parts of the Eastern Cape; however, this species has not been recorded south of northern KwaZulu-Natal. The type specimen is from Mombasa, Kenya (BM 1901.5.1.11, Holotype).

This species is relatively well represented in museums, with over 120 specimens examined for this book.

Cloeotis percivali is not abundant.