Fruit Bat Photo source
by Miss Baker
*This is a repost. Original post published on February 17, 2008.
This post is dedicated to my AP biology students, Jacob and Stevie, who think bats are as cool as birds because they also fly. Well, I’m not convinced they’re as cool as birds, but I do think they are endless forms most beautiful. I actually know very little about bats so I had to do a bit of research. Here is the classification scheme for bats:
Domain Eukaryota
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Infraclass Eutheria
Superorder Laurasiatheria
Order Chiroptera
Basic bat anatomy can be viewed here. Bats are divided into two groups: echolocators and fruit bats. There are four other extinct groups. Most echolocators are insect eaters and are helpful to agriculture because they eat insect pests. In one hour, a single bat can eat up to 1,000 insects. Fruit bats also benefit agriculture because they aid in seed dispersal. When they ingest fruit, the seed is not digested and is eliminated in the bat’s feces. By this time, the bat has flown away from the original parent plant and thus, the seed is dispersed far away from the parent.
Fruit bat holding an orange Photo source
Unfortunately, bats have been given a bad reputation, mainly due to the few species that drink blood. These bats don’t drink enough blood to kill their hosts, but the bites may cause infection. There is also a common misconception that bats are a dangerous source of rabies. While it’s true that bats can carry have rabies, less than one-half of one percent of bats have it. Another reason bats are disliked is that some species aren’t considered very attractive.
Golden Bat (Mimon bennettii) Photo source
However, on this website you can see what I think is the world’s cutest bat.
Much to my surprise, I discovered that bats are better fliers than birds. You can watch them flying in wind tunnels on this website. There is one species of bat that can catch birds in the air and prey on them! However, there are some birds that can catch and prey on bats as well, as you can see in this video.
How do bats hang upside down? The talons on a bat’s feet are closed when the feet are relaxed and opened when the feet are flexed. Think of a bull clip. In order to open the bull clip you must apply a force, but it takes no energy to close it. When a bat lands it flexes its feet, grasps the ledge, and then relaxes.
Bull clip Photo source
Fruit Bats Photo source
Because the bat’s feet are relaxed while hanging upside down, if a bat dies while hanging, it will continue to hang until something knocks it down!
Why hang upside down? Bats can’t take off from the ground. They must climb up to a high spot and then fall from that spot to begin flight. Roosting from a high spot allows bats to easily launch into flight when desired.
A mysterious illness has been killing thousands of bats in New York and Vermont. In some caves, the death rate has been as high as 90%, leaving many to fear the bat populations may not recover from what is affecting them. It’s nicknamed “white-nose disease” after the fuzzy white fungus that grows on the nose of most affected bats. But, the fungus is just a secondary infection that only attacks the bats once they are already sick from the unknown primary cause.
Little Brown Bats Photo source
The disease is currently affecting four species including the highly endangered Indiana bat. Like the disappearing bees, a decrease in bat numbers will have a severe impact on agriculture. The faster this mystery is solved, the better.
