Representatives of bats: list, features. The bats

They fly, but not birds and insects. Externally very similar to mice, but not rodents. Who are these amazing animals that are a mystery of nature? Wings, kalongs, povodonosy, red vespers are all bats representatives, the list of which includes about 1000 species.

Unusual representatives of mammals

The peculiarities of bats are, first of all, their ability to fly. This is made possible by the special structure of the upper limbs. But they are not turned into wings at all. The thing is that along the entire trunk from the last phalanx of the second finger and to the tail is a fold of the skin. It also forms a kind of wing. Order Bats has another similarity with birds. And those and others have a special outgrowth of the sternum - keel. It is to it that the muscles are attached, which move the wings.

Order Bats

These animals are nocturnal. In the afternoon they sleep, and with the onset of twilight they fly out to hunt from their shelters. Their places of residence are caves, mines, hollows of old trees, attics of houses. Bats mammals have all the characteristic features of this class. They feed their young with milk, have hair, epidermis - claws, and their skin contains numerous glands: sebaceous, sweaty and dairy. Bats can not see very well. This is a characteristic feature for animals that are nocturnal. But this is compensated by absolute hearing, which is more important in total darkness. In order to navigate in such conditions, bats also have additional adaptations.

What is echolocation?

Bats mammals, or rather most of them, are capable of producing high-frequency sound signals . Other living organisms can not perceive them. Such signals are reflected from surfaces encountered in the path of the animal. Thus, bats mammals can easily navigate in total darkness and move freely under similar conditions. This ability also allows them to hunt for prey in the air. To even better catch the sound signals, all the animals of this unit have characteristic, well-developed ears.

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 hunt insects at high altitude. And many species of fishes feed on sweet fruits, causing considerable damage to agriculture, gardening.

But in South and Central Africa really live real vampires. Their feature is the presence of 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 the blood from this place. Such a wound can be very dangerous. The thing is that the vampire saliva contains a substance that prevents blood clotting. The victim does not always feel a bite, because in the secretions there are also painkillers. Very often the wound becomes very inflamed. Such tropical vampires can also be carriers of dangerous diseases, for example, rabies. Therefore, they cause huge damage to livestock.

Diver variety of bats

Representatives of bats are divided into two groups: winged birds 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, echolocation is much less developed in them than in other representatives of winged mammals. But this is compensated by beautiful sight and smell. Bats, in contrast to the fishers, are mostly predators and bloodsucking animals. In the night hunting they are helped by echolocation. Such individuals live up to 20 years. Consider some amazing representatives of bats mammals in more detail.

Wings

Kalongs, or flying dogs, and atzerodons are representatives of bats from the family of the winged ones. These are large enough individuals. Thus, the range of their wings 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 practically do not have a tail. Instead, there is an underdeveloped coccygeal department. Their body is completely covered with wool up to 3 cm in length. Their coloration is often brown, but there are species of yellow and green shades with spots all over the body.

In search of food for a day, the wings can cover a distance of up to 100 km. At the same time, they unite into huge flocks, the number of individuals of which reaches several tens of thousands. In November, the fishes form married couples, and by the end of February they already have offspring. The number of newborns usually does not exceed 2 individuals. Approximately at the age of 8 months they are already able to independently produce food. There are cases when a person has tamed a winged man.

Vechernitsy

These bats are known for being the largest representatives of bats in the whole of Europe. Unlike others, they do not fall asleep, but make long-term seasonal migrations. Their diet is quite diverse, but it is dominated by butterflies and beetles. But the giant vespers do not mind eating even small singing birds. This is the rarest species. Often these animals fly to the hunt along with swallows or swifts. Diving over water, they drink. Red-eyed vespers especially love May beetles or horseradish.

Spectacled flying fox

This species is most often found on the expanses of the Indonesian peninsula and Australia. These representatives of bats have a characteristic feature, due to which they received 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 to the dark, while merging into large flocks. They prefer vegetable food. For example, the nectar of tropical plants. Getting this sweet delicacy, they thereby contribute to the process of pollination of flowers. Eucalyptus and figs are a favorite food of flying foxes.

The significance of bats mammals in nature and human life

Representatives of animals, referred to in this article, their life activity brings both benefit and harm. For example, in Pakistan, an illegal intensive hunting is conducted on a flying dog, since it has a very valuable fat. In some countries dishes from bats are an exquisite delicacy. It is known that in ancient times the Incas adorned their fur with fur of these animals. And this outfit was a sign of wealth and power. There are cases when bats in large quantities ate pests of the forest, thereby contributing to its growth. Bats that feed on fruits contribute to their spread. Overcoming the good distances within a day, bats and fishes carry their seeds. Together with undigested remnants of food, they fall into the soil, far from the site of growth. All this contributes to the resettlement of many species of plants on the surface of the planet.

Representatives of bats occupy an important niche in food chains of many ecosystems. They not only destroy various living components of biocenoses. Carrying 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 eat them in the gardens, causing significant harm to the crop. These animals, being the basis of myths and legends of vampires, are often safer than many others. Thus, the group of bats is the only systematic group of a class of mammals capable of active flight due to the presence of the keel and skin folds forming the wings.