They fly, but not birds or insects. Outwardly, they are very similar to mice, but not rodents. Who are these amazing animals that are a mystery of nature? Fruit bats, kalongs, pokovonos, red evenings - all these are bats, the list of which includes approximately 1000 species.
Unusual mammals
The characteristics of bats primarily lie in their ability to fly. This becomes possible due to the special structure of the upper limbs. But they are not turned into wings at all. 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. It forms a kind of wing. Order Chiroptera has another similarity with birds. Both have a special outgrowth of the sternum - the keel. It is to it that the muscles that set the wings in motion are attached.
Squad Chiroptera
These animals are nocturnal. During the day they sleep, and at dusk they fly out of their shelters to hunt. Their habitats are caves,mines, hollows of old trees, attics of houses. Chiroptera mammals have all the characteristic features of this class. They feed their young with milk, have hair, epidermal formations - claws, and their skin contains numerous glands: sebaceous, sweat and milk. Bats see very poorly. This is a characteristic feature for animals leading a nocturnal lifestyle. But on the other hand, this is compensated by absolute hearing, which is more important in complete darkness. In order to navigate in such conditions, bats also have additional adaptations.
What is echolocation?
Chetopteran mammals, or rather most of them, are capable of emitting high-frequency sound signals. Other living organisms cannot perceive them. Such signals are reflected from surfaces encountered in the path of the animal. So chiroptera mammals easily navigate in complete darkness and move freely in such conditions. This ability also allows them to hunt prey in the air. In order to catch sound signals even better, 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 altitudes. And many species of fruit bats feed on sweet fruits, while causing significantdamage to agriculture, horticulture.
But real vampires really live in South and Central Africa. Their feature is the presence of pointed edges of the upper incisors. They act like a razor. With them, vampires cut the surface of the skin of animals or humans and lick the blood from this place. Such a wound can be very dangerous. The thing is that the saliva of vampires contains a substance that prevents blood clotting. The victim does not always feel the bite, because the secretions also contain painkillers. 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 animal husbandry.
Diversity of the Order Bats
Representatives of bats are divided into two groups: fruit bats and bats. The former prefer to live in the countries of Australia, Asia and Africa. In food, they give preference to fruits. Therefore, they do not need to hunt. In connection with this feature, their echolocation is much less developed than in other representatives of winged mammals. But this is offset by excellent vision and smell. Bats, unlike fruit bats, are mostly predators and blood-sucking animals. Echolocation helps them hunt at night. Such individuals live up to 20 years. Let's take a closer look at some amazing representatives of chiropteran mammals.
Baby bats
Kalongs, or flying dogs, and acerodons -representatives of bats from the bat family. These are fairly large individuals. So, their wingspan can reach more than 1.5 meters. However, the size of some species that feed on pollen and plant nectar is 5 cm. They have practically no tail. Instead, there is an underdeveloped coccygeal department. 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 all over the body.
In search of food for a day fruit bats are able to cover a distance of up to 100 km. At the same time, they unite in huge flocks, the number of individuals of which reaches several tens of thousands. In November fruit bats form married couples, and by the end of February they already have offspring. The number of newborns usually does not exceed 2 individuals. At about the age of 8 months, they are already able to independently obtain food. There are cases when a person tamed fruit bats.
Party Parties
These bats are known for being the largest representatives of bats in all of Europe. Unlike others, they do not hibernate, but make long seasonal migrations. Their diet is quite varied, but butterflies and beetles predominate in it. But the giant evening is not averse to feasting on even small songbirds. This is the rarest kind. Often these animals fly out to hunt along with swallows or swifts. Dive over the water, they drink. Red Vespers are especially fond of May bugs or beetles.
Spectacled flying fox
This species is most oftenmeet in the vastness of the Indonesian Peninsula and Australia. These representatives of bats have a characteristic feature due to which they got their name. The fact is that around their eyes, the wool 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 at night, while uniting in large flocks. They prefer plant foods. For example, the nectar of tropical plants. By extracting this sweet delicacy, they thereby contribute to the process of pollination of flowers. Eucalyptus and figs are favorite foods for flying foxes.
The importance of bats in nature and human life
The representatives of the animals discussed in our article bring both benefit and harm to their livelihoods. For example, in Pakistan, the flying dog is heavily hunted illegally because it has a very valuable fat. In some countries, bat dishes are a gourmet 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 we alth and power. There are cases when bats ate forest pests in large quantities, thereby contributing to its growth. Chiroptera feeding on fruits contribute to their distribution. Overcoming decent distances during the day, bats and fruit bats also carry their seeds. Together with undigested food residues, they enter the soil, far from the area of growth. All this contributes to the resettlement of manyplant species on the surface of the planet.
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 significance of bats is also due to the fact that, eating juicy fruits, they increasingly prefer to feast on them in gardens, causing significant damage to the crop. These animals, being the basis of myths and legends about vampires, are often safer than many others. So, the order of bats is the only systematic group of mammals capable of active flight due to the presence of a keel and skin folds that form wings.
