802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Colophon

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The animal on the cover of 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition, is a horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros). This rare and globally endangered species is the smallest of the European horseshoe bats; they typically weigh only 4 to 10 grams and have a wingspan of19 to 25 centimeters. Horseshoe bats get their name from the horseshoe-shaped, leaflike plate of skin around their noses. This nose-leafhelps modify and direct the ultrasonic sounds they emit through their nostrils (a method ofsensory perception known as echolocation) to orient themselves to their surroundings, detect obstacles, communicate with each other, and find food. Bats’ echolocation systems are so accurate that they can detect insects the size of gnats and objects as fine as a human hair.

Lesser horseshoe bats are found in a variety of habitats, ranging from the British Isles to the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia, and from Morocco to Sudan. The lesser horseshoe bat was originally a cave-roosting bat, but many summer maternity colonies now occupy the roofs of old rural houses and farm buildings. These bats also sometimes roost in hedgerows and hollow trees. Maternity colonies of30 to 70 are normal, but roosting mothers have been known ...