The Wonder of Bats
Ranked #4,117 in Animals, #98,701 overall | Donates to Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter
Creatures Of The Night......
Meet the Bats
Way too many myths!
Bats will not fly into your hair.They are not blind.
Bats are not flying rodents.
Now, with the myths out of the way, let's move on to what bats really are all about!
"Suspicion amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they
never fly by twilight. Francis Bacon"
Chiroptera
Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera (). The forelimbs of all bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of sustained flight (other mammals, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, can only glide for limited distances). The word Chiroptera comes from the Greek words cheir (????) "hand" and pteron (??????) "wing," as the structure of the open wing is very similar to an outspread human hand with a membrane (patagium) between the fingers that also stretches between hand and body.
A measure of the success of bats is their estimated total of about 1,100 species worldwide, accounting for about 20 percent of all mammal species. About 70 percent of bats are insectivores. Most of the rest are frugivores, with a few species being carnivorous. Bats are present throughout most of the world. Bats perform a vital ecological role by pollinating flowers, and also serve an important role in seed dispersal. Many tropical plants are entirely dependent on bats.
Bats range in size from Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat measuring in length and in mass, to the Giant golden-crowned flying fox which has a wing span of and weighs approximately .
Books On Bats

Fruit Bat Hangs Upside down from a Tr...
Buy From Art.com
"Bats have no bankers and they do not drink and cannot be arrested and pay no tax and, in general, bats have it made."
--John Berryman
Flying Foxes (Fruit Bats)
Bats of the genus Pteropus, belonging to the Megachiroptera sub-order, are the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as the Fruit Bats or Flying Foxes among other numerous colloquial names. They live in the tropics and subtropics of Asia (including the Indian subcontinent), Australia, Indonesia, islands off East Africa (but not the mainland Africa), and a number of remote oceanic islands in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The oldest ancestors of the genus Pteropus to be unearthed appear in the fossil record almost exactly as they are today, the only notable differences being early flight adaptations such as a tail for stabilizing. The oldest megachiropteran is dated at around 35 million years ago, but the preceding gap in the fossil record makes their true lineage unknown.
Characteristically, all species of flying foxes only feed on nectar, blossom, pollen, and fruit, which explains their limited tropical distribution. They do not possess echolocation, a feature which helps the other sub-order of bats, the Microbats, locate and catch prey such as insects in mid-air. Instead, smell and eyesight are very well-developed in flying foxes. Feeding ranges can reach up to 40 miles. When it locates food, the flying fox "crashes" into foliage and grabs for it. It may also attempt to catch hold of a branch with its hind feet, then swing upside down ? once attached and hanging, the fox draws food to its mouth with one of its hind feet or with the clawed thumbs at the top of its wings.
The flying fox has been suggested as the source of sightings of the cryptid, the Ropen, in Papua New Guinea.
Sweet Flying Foxes
Flying Around The Web
- The Flying Fox Conservation FUnd
- A wonderful site with brilliant photos and information.
- National Geographic
- News - Oct. 31, 2008: A deadly fungus is threatening fragile bat populations.
Bat Photography
Mankind's History With Bats

Close View of a Rare Rodrigues Fruit Bat
Buy From Art.com
Pliny the Elder [1st century CE] "The bat is the only flying creature that bears live young and feeds them with its milk; it also carries its children in its arms as it flies."
Isidore of Seville [7th century CE] The bat, unlike other birds, is a flying quadruped, resembling a mouse. It has its name from the time when it flies, after twilight. It flies about driven by precipitate motion, hangs from frgile branchs, and makes a sound like a squeak.

A Native Species, the Mus...
Buy From Art.com
The Bat Poet
Invite A Few Bats To Your Yard
Not Quite Dracula, But Close
Vampire bats are bats whose food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. There are three bat species that feed solely on blood: the Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the White-winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi).
All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.
Delightful Stories For Children
Show Off Your Love For Bats!
Bats In YOUR Belfry?
Tell me about it.......
websaver wrote...
Great lense, better than my bat lense, so you deserve a bookmark
Visit my bat social network site
paperfacets wrote...
I love bats! I have never seen a picture of a bat I did not like. They all are intriguing.
I have not had much personal experience, but I would love to. I like your lens.
TheWhistler wrote...
Bats are very interesting creatures, and very much maligned.
Thanks for the lens.
rms wrote...
Thanks for another GREAT addition to the Gothic Temptations group!
More Squidoo For You
-
The Gryphon of Legend
-
The Gryphon (also spelled Griffin, Griffon, or Griffyn) is a legendary animal in myth, literature, legend, film, art, and lore. Whether an attacking protector of valuable lands, friendly napper, noble protector, or fantastical beast, the gryphon has...
-
Dark and Noble Ravens
-
....while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visitor," I muttered,...
-
The Tawny Frogmouth
-
A weird and wonderful bird from Down Under, the Tawny Frogmouth is so fun to watch. With it's owl-like body and frog-like mouth, this bird is like no other. A native to Australia, the rest of us need to be content with viewing this amazing creature i...
-
The Poe Toaster
-
Each year on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, his gravesite receives a visitor......who is this stranger who arrives in the wee hours for a toast at a headstone? Why does he or she do it? What symbolism is hidden in the gifts left for a long dead poet? "...
-
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
-
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, affectionately called BPAL by its crazed masses of fans, formulates original, exotic, complex and affordable perfume oil blends with a dark, gothic, neo-Victorian, hip, exotic, mysterious bent. Beth, the mother of BPAL and...




































