Bat, Bat

The forelimbs of all bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of sustained flight (other mammals, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, can only glide for limited distances). The word Chiroptera comes from the Greek words cheir () "hand" and pteron () "wing," as the structure of the open wing is very similar to an outspread human hand with a membrane (patagium) between the fingers that also stretches between hand and body.

Most of the rest are frugivores, with a few species being carnivorous. Bats are present throughout most of the world. Bats perform a vital ecological role by pollinating flowers, and also serve an important role in seed dispersal. Many tropical plants are entirely dependent on bats.

An Early Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi , was found in the 52-million-year-old Green River Formation in South Dakota (US) in 2004. The new genus was placed in a new family when it was published in Nature , February 2008.

The team realized Onychonycteris finneyi was different when they noticed that the species lacked the ear and throat features present not only in all living, echolocating bats today, but also in other ancient species known only from fossils.

While megabats have a well-developed visual cortex and show good visual acuity, microbats rely on echolocation for navigation and finding prey.

This hypothesis recognizes the marked differences between microbats and megabats, while at the same time acknowledging the likelihood that flight has evolved only once in mammals. In addition, the majority of molecular biological evidence supports the point of view that bats form a monophyletic group.

They have probably evolved for some time in New Guinea without microbat concurrention. This has resulted in some smaller megabats of the genus Nyctimene becoming (partly) insectivorous to fill the vacant microbat ecological niche. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the fruit bat genus Pteralopex from the Solomon Islands, and its close relative Mirimiri from Fiji, have evolved to fill some niches that were open because there are no nonvolant (non-flying) mammals in those islands.

Two groups of moths exploit the bats' senses: tiger moths produce ultrasonic signals to warn the bats that the moths are chemically-protected (aposematism) (this was once thought to be the biological equivalent of "radar jamming", but this theory is still unconfirmed); the moths Noctuidae have a hearing organ called a tympanum which responds to an incoming bat signal by causing the moth's flight muscles to twitch erratically, sending the moth into random evasive manoeuvres.

The surface of their wings are also equipped with touch-sensitive receptors on small bumps called Merkel cells, found in most mammals, including humans. But these sensitive areas are different in bats as each bump has a tiny hair in the center, making it even more sensitive, and allowing the bat to detect and collect information about the air flowing over its wings. An additional kind of receptor cell is found in the wing membrane of species that use their wings to catch prey.

Bats may have one to three litters in a season, depending on the species and on environmental conditions such as the availability of food and roost sites. Females generally have one offspring at a time; this is probably a result of the mother's need to fly to feed while pregnant. Female bats nurse their youngster until it has grown nearly to adult size; this is because a young bat cannot forage on its own until its wings have assumed adult dimensions.

Young microbats become independent at the age of 6 to 8 weeks, megabats not until they are four months old.

At least two species of bat are known to feed on other bats: the Spectral Bat, also called the American False Vampire bat, and the Ghost Bat of Australia . One species, the Greater Noctule bat, is believed to catch and eat small birds in the air.

This also applies if the bat is found dead. If it is certain that nobody has been exposed to the bat, it should be removed from the house. The best way to do this is to close all the doors and windows to the room except one to the outside. The bat should soon leave.

The coats of arms of certain cities in eastern Spain, like Valencia, Palma de Mallorca and Fraga have the bat over the shield. Formerly the Barcelona city coat of arms also had a bat crowning it, but the bat has been removed in the present-day versions.

This is the most widely accepted theory, although there is also a legend that says that thanks to the humble intervention of a bat, king James I was able to win a crucial battle against the Saracens that allowed him to win Valencia for his kingdom.

Bats are closely associated with vampires, who are said to be able to shapeshift into bats, fog, or wolves. Bats are also a symbol of ghosts, death, and disease. Among some Native Americans, such as the Creek, Cherokee and Apache, the bat is a trickster spirit. Chinese lore claims the bat is a symbol of longevity and happiness, and is similarly lucky in Poland and geographical Macedonia and among the Kwakiutl and Arabs.

The bat is a primary animal associated with fictional characters of the night, both villains like Dracula and heroes like Batman. The association of the fear of the night with the animal was treated as a literary challenge by Kenneth Oppel, who created a best selling series of novels, beginning with Silverwing , which feature bats as the central heroic figures much as anthropomorphized rabbits were the central figures to the classic novel Watership Down.

The large Naked bat (see Mammals of Borneo) and Greater Nectar bat are consumed by the local communities.

They also symbolized destruction and decay. Bats may have symbolized these things because they fly only at night and dwell in caves during the daytime and are associated with human skulls and bones by Classic Maya ceramists. Central Mexicans sometimes depicted bats having snouts that looked like sacrificial knives and carrying human head in the Postclassic era Kay Almere Read and Jason J. Gonzalez. 2000. Mesoamerican Mythology. Oxford University Press. pp. 132 . Bat images were engraved onto funerary urns emphasized with large claws and round ears by Zapotecs and were commonly associated with death [2] . The depiction of bats on funeral urns and goods took on some characteristics of the jaguar which is another entity of the night and the underworld. There have also been instances where bats are portrayed next to other dangerous animals, such as scorpions and other nocturnal ones such as owls.

Known as a god of death, this statue has the clawed feet and hands of a bat, but the entire body of a human man. The statues human-like eyes bulged out from the bat-like head, making the Zapotec images come to life. It was said that in the 1930s the Kaqchikel Maya proclaimed that the bat was the Devils provider. Kaqchikel would leave the Devils underworld home and collect blood from the animals to be used for tasty meals to feed the Devil. In the myths, the beast of prey and the animal that is preyed upon play two significant roles. They represent two aspects of lifethe aggressive, killing, conquering, creating aspect of life, and the one that is the matter or, you might say, the subject matter Joseph Cambell and Bill Moyers. 1988. The Power of Myth. Doubleday. pp. 91.

Feeling left out and ugly, the bat whined to God that he was extremely cold, so God, being fair and just, turned to each bird and asked if they could donate one individual feather so the bat could keep warm. The birds agreed, and began to pluck one feather from their bodies to give to the bat. With all of the feathers combined, the bat became even more beautiful than the birds and was even able to spread color onto the night sky. During the day, the bat would create rainbows that reflected vibrant colors from the sun. Because of this new and improved look and feel, the bat became overly arrogant and conceited. The birds grew tired of the bats self glorification, so they decided to fly up to heaven and talk to God about what was going on. The birds reported to God how the bat was acting, so God decided to take a look for Himself, then called on the bat to show Him what the bat was doing on Earth. When the bat began to fly across the light blue sky, each feather began to fall out one by one, uncovering the bats ugly body. The bat became even more ashamed of his looks after all of the feathers came off and missed the beautiful, plentiful feathers so much that he decided to hide in caves during the day and only come out at night, searching high and low for his lost plumage in hopes that he will not be seen during his search for he is too embarrassed Kay Almere Read and Jason J. Gonzalez. 2000. Mesoamerican Mythology. Oxford University Press. pp. 132-134.

The bat and the bush-rat would rummage through the grass and trees together, hunting all the way along, talking and bonding throughout the day. When nighttime came, the bat and the bush-rat would take turns cooking what theyve hunted, but eat together. Their friendship appeared special and meaningful, but the bat did not even like the bush-rat. Actually, the bat hated the bush-rat.For some reason, the bats soup at supper time always tasted better than the bush-rats. One night, when both the bat and the bush-rat were eating dinner, the bush-rat asked the bat why his soup was always so much better than his and if the bat would show him how to make his excellent soup. The bat told the bush-rat hed show him how to make it the next day, when the bat was really forming an evil and deceitful plan.The next day came, so the bat prepared his scrumptious soup as usual. A few moments later, the bush-rat came, greeted the bat, and asked if the bat could show him how to make the scrumptious soup. What the bush-rat did not know was that the bat found a pot looking exactly like the one he prepared his soup in and replaced his scrumptious soup pot with a pot holding warm water. The bat then explained to the bush-rat that in order to make his signature soup, he boils himself just before it is served and the sweetness and flavor of the soup comes from his flesh. The bat jumped in the pot, excited about the look of amazement in the bush-rats eyes. The bat climbed out after a few minutes and when the bush-rat wasnt looking, switched the pots again. The bat then served his soup out of the soup pot and both the bat and the bush-rat tasted the deliciousness. Feeling eager and over anxious of the bats cooking strategy the bush-rat jumped into the pot of warm water and stayed in much, much longer than the bat, and died.When the bush-rats wife returned that night to find her husband dead, she ran crying to the chief telling him about what happened and all about the bats evil ways. When the chief heard the terrible story from the bush-rats wife he grew very angry and ordered for the bats arrest immediately. When all of the chiefs men went looking for the bat, he was nowhere to be found. When the chief ordered for the bats arrest, the bat just happened to be flying over the chiefs house and overheard, so he quickly went into hiding high up in a tree. Everyone continued to search for the bat to arrest him the next day and all of the following days, but no one could find him. The bat did, however need to eat, so he flew out of hiding every night to hunt for food. That is why bats only fly at night. Arnott, Kathleen. 1962. African Myths and Legends. Oxford University Press. Pp. 150-152.

Bat houses can be made from scratch, made from kits, or bought ready made.

With a few minor modifications, suitable pillboxes can be converted to artificial caves for bats.

Source: Wikipedia > Bat