Fly, but not birds and not insects. Outwardly very similar to mice, but not rodents. Who are these amazing animals that are a mystery of nature? Birds, kalongs, pokonosy, ginger evenings - all these are bats, a list of which includes about 1000 species.
Unusual representatives of mammals
The characteristics of bats primarily consist in their ability to fly. This is made possible thanks to the special structure of the upper limbs. But they are not at all turned into wings. The thing is that along the entire body from the last phalanx of the second finger to the tail there is a fold of skin. She forms a kind of wing. The Batwing order has one more resemblance to birds. And in those and others, a special outgrowth of the sternum is formed - the keel. It is to him that the muscles are attached, causing the wings to move.
Batwing squad
These animals are nocturnal. In the afternoon they sleep, and at dusk they fly out to hunt from their shelters. Their habitats are caves, mines, hollows of old trees, attics of houses. Batwing mammals possess all the characteristic features of this class. They feed their babies with milk, have hair, epidermis formations - claws, and their skin contains numerous glands: sebaceous, sweat and milk. Bats are very hard to see. This is a characteristic feature for animals leading a nocturnal lifestyle. But on the other hand, this is compensated by absolute pitch, which is more important in complete darkness. In order to navigate in such conditions, bats have additional devices.
What is echolocation?
Batwing mammals, more precisely most of them, are capable of emitting high-frequency sound signals . Other living organisms cannot perceive them. Such signals are reflected from surfaces encountered along the path of the animal. So bats are easily oriented in complete darkness and move freely in such conditions. This ability also allows them to hunt for prey in the air. To better capture sound signals, all animals of this order have characteristic, well-developed auricles.
Real vampires
There are many terrible legends about winged mammals. Like, they all attack people at night, feeding on their blood. However, all these rumors are greatly exaggerated. For example, bulldog bats prey on insects at high altitude. And many species of winged birds feed on sweet fruits, while causing significant damage to agriculture and horticulture.
But real vampires really live in South and Central Africa. Their feature is the presence of the pointed edges of the upper incisors. They act like a razor. They vampires cut the surface of the skin of animals or humans and lick blood from this place. Such a wound can be very dangerous. The thing is that in the saliva of vampires contains a substance that prevents blood coagulation. The victim does not always feel the bite, as there are painkillers in the discharge. Very often, the wound becomes very inflamed. Such tropical vampires can also be carriers of dangerous diseases, such as rabies. Therefore, they cause great harm to livestock.
Variety of bats squad
Representatives of bats are divided into two groups: bats and bats. The former prefer to live in Australia, Asia and Africa. In food, they give preference to fruits. Therefore, they do not need to hunt. In connection with this feature, echolocation is much less developed in them than in other representatives of winged mammals. But this is compensated by excellent eyesight and smell. Bats, unlike winged bats, are mostly predators and blood-sucking animals. In night hunting, it is echolocation that helps them. Such individuals live up to 20 years. Consider some of the amazing bats in more detail.
Winged
Kalongs, or flying dogs, and acerodons are representatives of the bats from the family of the winged. These are quite large individuals. So, the wingspan can reach more than 1.5 meters. However, the size of some species that feed on pollen and nectar of plants is 5 cm. They have practically no tail. Instead, an underdeveloped coccygeal section is located. Their body is completely covered with hair up to 3 cm in length. Their color is most often brown, but there are species of both yellow and green shades with spots throughout the body.
In search of food for a day, the wingers are able to cover a distance of up to 100 km. At the same time, they are combined into huge flocks, the number of individuals of which reaches several tens of thousands. In November, the winged birds form couples, and by the end of February they already have offspring. The number of newborns usually does not exceed 2 individuals. Around the age of 8 months they are already able to independently obtain food. There are cases when a person tamed bouts of wings.
Evening parties
These bats are known for being the largest bats in all of Europe. Unlike others, they do not hibernate, but perform long-term seasonal migrations. Their diet is quite diverse, but butterflies and beetles prevail in it. But the gigantic evening party is not averse to feasting even on small songbirds. This is the rarest species. Often these animals fly to hunt with swallows or swifts. Diving over the water, they drink. The red-headed vespers especially loves May bugs or gherkins.
Spectacled Flying Fox
This species is most often found in the vastness of the Indonesian Peninsula and Australia. These representatives of bats have a characteristic feature, thanks to which they got their name. The fact is that around their eyes, the hair grows in the form of a mask and has a lighter color. Outwardly, it is very similar to real glasses. For food, they usually also go in the dark, while uniting in large flocks. They prefer plant foods. For example, nectar of tropical plants. By extracting this sweet delicacy, they thereby contribute to the process of pollination of flowers. Eucalyptus and figs are the favorite food of flying foxes.
The value of bats in nature and human life
Representatives of animals, which are discussed in our article, bring their life activity both benefit and harm. For example, in Pakistan, a flying dog is being hunted illegally intensively because it has very valuable fat. In some countries, bats are an exquisite delicacy. It is known that in ancient times the Incas decorated their clothes with the fur of these animals. Moreover, such an outfit was a sign of wealth and power. There are cases when bats in large quantities ate forest pests, thereby contributing to its growth. Bats, eating fruits, contribute to their distribution. Overcoming decent distances during the day, bats and winged birds also carry their seeds. Together with undigested food debris, they fall into the soil, far from the locality. All this contributes to the spread of many plant species on the surface of the planet.
The representatives of bats occupy their important niche in the food chains of many ecosystems. They not only destroy various living components of biocenoses. Transferring dangerous infectious diseases, they are able to regulate their numbers. The negative value of bats is also due to the fact that, eating juicy fruits, they increasingly prefer to feast on them in the gardens, causing significant damage to the crop. These animals, being the basis of myths and legends about vampires, are most often safer than many others. So, the bats squad is the only systematic group of the class of mammals capable of active flight due to the presence of the keel and skin folds that form the wings.