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More About Bats ...
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Bats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera with forelimbs developed as wings. Other mammals, such as flying squirrels or gliding phalangers, can glide limited distances, but only bats are capable of true flight. The name Chiroptera can be translated as Hand Wing, as the structure of the open wing is very similar to an outspread human hand, covered in a membrane.
Though the vast majority of bats are insectivorous, a significant number from both suborders, Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera (see below), have developed the ability to feed on fruits and their juices. Some of the smaller species are important pollinators of some tropical flowers. Indeed, many tropical plants are now found to be totally dependent on them, not just as pollinators, but eating the resulting fruits and so spreading their seeds. In addition, some bats prey on vertebrates. These bats include the Leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) of central and South America, and the allied family Noctilionidae (Bulldog bats) that feed on fish.
There are two suborders of bats:
Megachiroptera (megabats or fruit bats)
Microchiroptera (microbats, echolocating bats or insectivorous bats)
Megabats eat fruit, while microbats eat mainly insects, and often rely on echolocation for navigation and finding prey. A handful of species, the vampire bats, feed on blood.
It was once believed that megabats and microbats developed independently, and that the shared characteristics were the result of convergent evolution. After numerous genetic analyses it has been established that both groups have a common flying ancestor.
Little is known about the evolution of bats, since their small, delicate skeletons do not fossilize well. The oldest known bat fossils are Icaronycteris, Archaeonycteris, Palaeochiropteryx and Hassianycteris from the early Eocene (about 50 million years ago), but they were already very similar to modern microbats.
Bats are usually grouped with the tree shrews (Scandentia), colugos (Dermoptera), and the primates in superorder Archonta.
All bats are active at night or at twilight, so the eyes of most species are poorly developed. Their senses of smell and hearing, however, are excellent. By emitting high-pitched sounds and listening to the echoes, the microbats locate prey and other nearby objects. This is the process of echolocation, a skill they share with dolphins and whales.
The teeth resemble those of the insectivores. They are very sharp in order to bite through the chitin armour of insects or the skin of fruits.
A newborn bat can cling to the fur of the mother and be transported, although they soon grow too large for this. It would be difficult for an adult bat to carry more than one young, so normally only one young is born. Bats will often form nursery roosts, with many females giving birth in the same area, be it a cave, a tree hole, or a cavity in a building. Two mammary glands are situated between the chest and the shoulders. Only the mother cares for the young, and there is no continuous partnership.
Small bats are sometimes preyed upon by owls and falcons. Generally there are few animals able to hunt a bat. In Asia there is a bird, the bat hawk, which specializes in hunting bats. The domestic cat is a regular predator in urban areas; they may catch bats as they enter or leave a roost, or on the ground. Bats will land on the ground for feeding, in bad weather, or due to accidents while learning to fly.
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Taxonmony
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Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family:
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Source: Wikipedia Read more about Bats
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VIDEO CLIPS
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Bat
7.140MB MOV View Movie
Australia Advances - CSIRO Publishing
Sick Bats
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Bat
1.520MB AVI View Movie
Pelotes Island Nature Preserve
A short movie about bats with commentary on bat's wings
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Bat
14.110MB MOV View Movie
Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica and Panama (R. Hays Cummins, Miami University)
At Corcovado, this huge Garlic Tree is hollow inside and is large enough for us to venture inside. There were plenty of Bats roosting in the interior of the tree.
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Bat
10.460MB MOV View Movie
Tropical Ecosystems of Costa Rica and Panama (R. Hays Cummins, Miami University)
Nine Long-nosed bats (Rhynchonycteris naso) roost in a tree in Corcovado. Two of the females have babies.
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Vampire Bat
Streaming RAM View Movie
National Geographic - Creature Feature Archive
Video of Vampire Bats - with narrative
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Wrinke-nose bat
1.940MB MOV View Movie
Geographia
Bat exodus from Mulu Cave, Malaysia
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Bat
0.660MB MOV View Movie
Bat Conservation and Management
Bat Flight
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Brown Bat
6.240MB MOV View Movie
Bat Conservation and Management
View bats inside a seven chamber bat house at dusk during the nightly emergence.
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Bat
4.480MB MOV View Movie
Bat Conservation and Management
Exodus of a large summer bat colony at dusk.
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Flying Fox
20.890MB MOV View Movie
Australia Advances - CSIRO Publishing
Tracking bats - Video about Tolag Bat Hospital
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Bat
0.410MB AVI View Movie
Pelotes Island Nature Preserve
See a bat eat a worm. With commentary
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Bat
0.460MB MOV View Movie
Endangered Mammals in Pennsylvania
Bat flying
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Bat
3.470MB MOV View Movie
Bat Conservation and Management
Bats in an abandoned limestone mine in central Pennsylvania.
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Daubenton's bat
MOV View Movie
Arkive.org
Nice selection of Daubenton's bat video clips available in various formats
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Natterer's bat
MOV View Movie
Arkive.org
Nice selection of Natterer's bat video clips available in various formats
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Lesser horseshoe bat
MOV View Movie
Arkive.org
Nice selection of Lesser horseshoe bat video clips available in various formats
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Greater horseshoe bat
MOV View Movie
Arkive.org
Nice selection of Greater horseshoe bat video clips available in various formats
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Lesser short-tailed bat
MOV View Movie
Arkive.org
Nice selection of Lesser short-tailed bat video clips available in various formats
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Pipistrelle Bat
MOV View Movie
Arkive.org
Nice selection of Pipistrelle Bat video clips available in various formats
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Bat
0.340MB MOV View Movie
Flaus-Online
Walking bat
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Bat
2.190MB MOV View Movie
Bat Conservation and Management
Return of a large summer bat colony to its roost at dawn
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Bat
6.450MB MOV View Movie
Bat Conservation and Management
Bats in an abandoned limestone mine in central Pennsylvania.
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Bat
0.270MB MPG View Movie
Khao Yai National Park
A clip of bats
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Vampire Bat
RM View Movie
PBS
Filmmaker Mark Ferns allows a vampire bat to drink his blood.
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Bat
0.950MB MOV View Movie
DVArchive
Bats hanging from ceiling of cave, Bali, Indonesia
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New Zealand Short-tailed Bat
Streaming RAM View Movie
BBC
New Zealand Short-tailed Bat video clip
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Common Vampire Bat
View Movie
National Geographic
Assassin Bug vs. Bats
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