Winged Superlatives: The Ancient and Modern Diversity of Bats
Which bat would be voted "most likely to eat insects" in their high school yearbook?
Winged Superlatives: The Ancient and Modern Diversity of Bats
- 10 Bats that subsist on nectar--this Glossophaga soricina among them--have simplified teeth and elongated snouts that can fit inside flowers. Many possess long, extensible tongues similar to those of anteaters. Some also have specialized brushlike papillae on the tips of their tongue for extracting nectar from the base of tubular flowers. Many nectar bats are small and have short, strong wings for hovering. Merlin D. Tuttle Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
- 9 Vampire bats, such as this Desmodus rotundus, have bladelike teeth for making tiny cuts in the skin of their prey, from which they lap their blood meals. Vampires are good fliers, but they are unusual among bats in also having long thumbs and robust hind limbs that help them approach their victims by walking rather than flying. Merlin D. Tuttle Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
- 8 Fruit-eating bats, including Ectophylla alba, often have shorter faces and simpler molars than their insect- and meat-eating cousins do. They retain large canines for grasping fruit, however. Small-bodied with short, broad wings, Ectophylla specializes in finding small fruits in the forest understory. This bat’s pale color may camouflage it when it roosts in leaf tents that the animal sculpts using its front teeth. Merlin D. Tuttle Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
- 7 Vampyrum spectrum and other carnivorous bats are typically larger than their insect- eating cousins, although their teeth are similar. Most have short, broad wings good for maneuvering close to obstacles while hunting. As top predators, carnivorous bats are widespread but few in number. Merlin D. Tuttle Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
- BAT DIVERSITY Insectivorous bats, as represented here by Eptesicus fuscus, tend to have long snouts and teeth with sharp, interlocking cusps, for puncturing and slicing prey. With moderately long, broad wings, it is a strong, agile flier. Merlin D. Tuttle Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
- MOST GREGARIOUS: Tadarida brasiliensis, the Mexican free-tailed bat, lives in colonies composed of up to millions of individuals. Bracken Cave outside of San Antonio, Tex., houses 20 million of these creatures--the largest colony known. Merlin D. Tuttle Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
