Bates's slit-faced bat (Nycteris arge) is a species of slit-faced bat frequently confused with Nycteris major.

It is broadly distributed and common, living throughout many parts of Africa in forests and savannas.

The holotype had been collected from Cameroon by George Latimer Bates.

[2] Bates's slit-faced bat, as the common name suggests, has a "deep median furrow" down its face.

[4] It is found throughout Central and West Africa, including Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.