The skull is distinguished by a characteristic interorbital concavity, externally connected to a long slit that runs down the centre of their faces from between the eyes to the nostrils, and probably assists in echolocation.

[3] Slit-faced bats inhabit rainforests and savanna, and roost in caves, trees, and buildings, typically in fairly small colonies.

At least one species, the large slit-faced bat, even catches vertebrate prey, such as frogs and small birds.

[4] The echolocation calls of slit-faced bats are relatively quiet and short in duration, and they seem to target their prey by hearing the sounds it produces, rather than by sonar.

The genus Nycteris is found in the Afrotropics and the adjacent areas of Palaearctic, Madagascar and Oriental realms.