Bat Lovers Welcome

This is a blog dedicated to studying our little furry creature of the night friends. Learn about them, and more on this blog!! (The current header image is a ghost bat!) (the avatar is a golden-crowned flying fox, one of the biggest bats in the world!)

[biomedicalephemera]

Frontal View of the Skull of the Domestic Cat

Mammalian Anatomy, a Preparation for Human and Comparative Anatomy. Horace Jayne, 1898.

[bat-fanatics-united]

Types of Bats in Illinois

(Sorry about the long disappearance! I will try to post more!) 

I WILL BE DOING A SERIES OF BATS FROM EACH FIFTY STATES IN THE US. I will start with Illinois because that's where I'm from, and then I will go alphabetically. :) Enjoy.

Year-round residents

These species are known to hibernate in Illinois.

Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus): Colonial. Both sexes roost together in caves and mines during the winter. Females form nursery colonies in hollow trees, under loose bark on trees, or in buildings during the spring and summer. During the summer males live alone or in small colonies, roosting in trees, in rock crevices, or under siding or shingles of buildings. During the fall, both sexes roost in trees.

Northern Long-Eared Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis): Colonial. In winter both sexes roost in mines and caves. In the summer females form small nursery colonies in hollow trees, under loose bark, or in little-used buildings. Males also will roost in caves during spring and summer.

Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis): Colonial. Both sexes roost in caves and mines during winter. During the summer, females form small nursery colonies and roost underneath exfoliating bark of trees. Males form small colonies during the summer and may roost in caves. This species is federally endangered.

Southeastern Bat (Myotis austroriparius): Colonial. Roost mostly in caves, but also mines, tunnels, hollow trees, buildings, culverts, and under bridges where caves are not available. This species is endangered in Illinois.

Eastern Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus): Both sexes roost singly or in small groups in caves and mines during the winter. In summer, females form moderately sized nursery colonies (up to 50 individuals) in caves, cliffs, or under the eaves of buildings. Males are solitary during the summer.

Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus): During the winter both sexes roost in caves, tunnels, rock crevices, hollow trees, or buildings. Females form nursery colonies in hollow trees or attics during the spring and summer. Males are typically solitary during the early part of summer and roost in crevices in buildings or caves. Both sexes may be found together in roosts in late summer and fall.

Potential year-round residents

During the winter, some individuals of these species hibernate in Illinois while the rest migrate to adjacent states or farther south.

Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens): Colonial. Roost in caves year-round. This species is federally endangered.

Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis): Solitary. Roost in trees in both winter and summer. In winter, they use crevices or hollow trees. In summer, they can be found hanging from the outer limbs of trees. In spring and fall, they sometimes use shrubs or tall weeds as a roosting spot.

Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans): Small colonies. Roost under bark and in tree cavities in wooded areas. May occasionally occupy buildings or caves during the winter, though most migrate south.

Rafinesque’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii): Colonial. Roost in caves, mines, and buildings. Unlikely to over-winter in Illinois. This species is endangered in Illinois.

Summer residents

These species are typically not found in Illinois during the winter.

Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus): Solitary. Roost in trees, usually in the foliage, but occasionally in cavities.

Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis): Colonial. Roost in trees or occasionally in buildings.

FIND MORE HERE

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/directory_show.cfm?species=bat

[accidentalambience]

Persian trident bat or Triaenops afer. Many people is you talk to them they have an image of bats being these dull, devil like night creatures which are associated with evil. But look at this bat, golden orange colour. Then look at the complexity of the mouth parts with the three features which stick out of the mouth. The bat is cave roosting species in the family of Hipposideridae (Old world leaf-nosed bats). This bat was trapped in Ali Baba cave about 4Km from Arabuko-Sokoke Forest..

simon musila

[subdivisionoftheaesthetic]

Baroque Period Anatomical Wax Model

Venerina - Anatomical Venus 1780-1782

Marie Marguerite Bihéron

Anatomical Eve - 16-17th Century

Anatomical Venus - 19th c. Wax

[bat-fanatics-united]

(Lavia Frons) The Yellow-Winged Bat

Description

The yellow-winged bat has a total length of 58–80 mm and a body weight of 28-36 g. Females tend to be slightly larger than males. The wingspan averages 36 cm. This species pelage is made of long hairs that are typically pearl grey or slaty gray. Males may have greenish-yellow fur on the hindparts and on the ventral surfaces. As its name suggests, the bat has wings that are reddish-yellow which is also the color of its other membranes as well as its noseleaf and ears. The membranes are largely hairless although there is some fur on the upper arms. The ears are fairly long and have a spiky tragus. It has an elongated noseleaf with a blunt but pointed tip. Although the yellow-winged bat has an advanced interfemoral membrane, it lacks an external tail. The dental formula is 0.2.1.11.2.3.3. Glands exist on the lower back of males and discharge a yellow substance. Females have false nipples near the anus and are used by the young to hold on to.

Ecology

The yellow-winged bat has an extensive range throughout the middle of Africa. It is found in Benin , Burkina Faso , Burundi , Cameroon , Central African Republic , Chad , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Ivory Coast ,Eritrea , Ethiopia , Gabon , Gambia , Ghana , Guinea-Bissau , Kenya ,Malawi , Mali , Niger , Nigeria , Rwanda , Senegal , Sierra Leone , Somalia ,South Sudan , Sudan , Tanzania , Togo , Uganda , and Zambia . The bat mostly lives in woodland and savannah habitats and in elevations of less than 2,000 m. It prefers acacia trees and thorn bushes near bodies of water,which it flies around.It prefers to live in areas where the vegetation is well spaced, which allows it to view more of its surroundings. The yellow-winged bat primarily roosts in small trees and shrubs. It can also be found roosting in trees cavities and buildings. It will roost in two separate trees; a primary and peripheral tree. Bats use their primary roost in the morning and again before evening. Bats travel between primary and peripheral roost trees, especially on hot days, as they may need shade. These flights are typically short but longer flights have been recorded in midday.

Unlike other false vampire bats, the yellow-winged bat feeds only on insects and not small vertebrates. It will feed on both soft- and hard-bodied insects. Bats may feed on termites , scarab beetles , orthopterans , lepidopterans  anddipterans . The size of prey ranges from "very small to relatively large".[2] The yellow-winged bat is a sit-and-wait predator. They perch and listen for prey and if it flies by, the bat launches its attack. This species, while potentially vulnerable to predation, the bat is very alert. Mambas , bat hawks , night tree vipers  and common kestrels  may prey on this species.

Behavior and life history

The yellow-winged bat is a monogamous species. Males and females form pairs during the breeding season and establish their own foraging territories. They are no more than 1 m apart when roosting together. One member is vigilant during the day and can turn head 225° and move its ears. Between the foraging periods in the morning and evening, the male visits the peripheral roost and protecting it from potential intruders. In the morning, the pairs interact with each other before splitting up for the day. The male and female meet again at the primary roost tree before evening to interact. The maximum amount of male-female social interaction occurs between May and early June. This is when the when raining and insects are more numerous and the young hone their hunting skills. The exact time in which the yellow-winged bat gives birth, can vary by region. Parturition occurs at the close of the dry season in October in Zambia, while at Lake Baringo in Kenya, it occurs the start of the so-called long rains in April.Females are pregnant for around 3 months with only one young being born. During the first few weeks, young hang on to their mothers. Soon, the young stay at the roost for around a week and develop self-sustained flight. Young are weaned when they are around 55 days old.

Calls produced by this species include search-phase echolocation calls and some social calls that can be heard by humans. Echolocation helps give the bat information on close objects. Social calls are associated with aggression, copulation or mother-offspring interactions.

Status

Little is known about human impacts on the population of the yellow-winged bat and the population dynamics of the species have not been recorded. It does not appear to be particularly threaten but is likely not very common.

Article: http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/murci%C3%A9lago_de_alas_amarillas

Lavia frons is found throughout Middle Africa. This yellow-winged bat can be seen from Gambia to Ethiopia and from Southern to Northern Zambia. Lavia frons has also been observed as south as Northern Rhodesia. In general, Lavia frons occupies territory in Africa from 15° north to 15° degrees south latitude (Vaughan and Vaughan, 1http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/murci%C3%A9lago_de_alas_amarilla

[eximago-blog]

The spotted-winged fruit bat (Balionycteris maculata) is a species of Pterpodidae inhabiting the rain forests and mangrove forests of Brunei and Malaysia. They are unusually small for their family— commonly called the “Megabats”— at only 5-7cm in length. They are so named for the pale spots on their wings which occur mostly on the finger joints, but do appear on the wing membranes and body, including two spots in front of the eyes and on the ears.

Spotted-wing fruit bats dwell in the understory where they feed on small fruits like figs and persimmon, but will occasionally take small invertebrates. During the day, they roost and forage alone at night. Males will visit their roosting sites several times within a single night, suggesting to scientists that they are territorial over these areas and that prime roosts give them access to more females who will visit multiple males when breeding. Uniquely, these roosting sites are often partially excavated by the bats in old ant and termite mounds, or in the roots of trees.

[odditiesoflife]

Six Strange & Creepy Species of Bats

Bats are frightening enough as it is, but within the variety of these different terrifying species they have faces only a mother could love.

Griffin’s Leaf-Nosed Bat

Spotted Bat

Visored Bat

Maclaud’s Horseshoe Bat

Tube-Nosed Fruit Bat

Hammer-Headed Bat

[bat-fanatics-united]

Here's an interesting species: (Euderma maculatum) The Spotted bat. I uploaded several pictures because this little guy is quite abnormal, and one of my favorite American bats. They're mostly found in the Western United States. Family Name: Vespertilionidae Genus: Euderma Species Name: maculatum Pronunciation: you-derm-a mac-you-lay-tum The spotted bat is one of America's most striking mammals. Its long, silky fur is snow white beneath and jet black above, dramatically accentuated by large white spots on its shoulders and rump. Its translucent pink ears, nearly as long as its body, are the largest of any bat found in the United States, and it has pink wings to match! Initially thought to be extremely rare, the spotted bat is now known to occupy a rather large range throughout central western North America from southern British Columbia to northern Mexico. From its first scientific discovery in 1891 until 1965, only 35 specimens were known to science. Even now, it is one of America's least known animals, but the rarity with which it is observed likely does not reflect its true status in nature. Its habits and choice of roosting sites high in cliff crevices make the spotted bat difficult to observe and unlikely to be harmed by humans. This bat appears to feed almost exclusively on moths, which it captures high above the ground. It is one of the few bats that uses echolocation frequencies low enough to be audible to humans. Article: http://www.batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/species-profiles.html?task=detail&species=2058&country=43&state=9&family=all&limitstart=0

[bat-fanatics-united]

The perfect way to end a night of blogging about bats. :)

[bat-fanatics-united]

(Ectophylla alba) The Honduran White Bat Geographic Range: Endemic to the lowlands of Central America, including Eastern Honduras, Northern Nicaragua, Eastern Costa Rica, and Western Panama. Biogeographic Regions: neotropical native Habitat Found mainly in rainforests that have a population of Heliconia plant species. Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest Physical Description: This is a very small species of bat. The total body length ranges from 37-47mm. They have no external tail. They have a lustrous white coat covering most of their bodies. Sections of this coat are tinged with gray. They also have bright orange/yellow features (ears, face, nose, and sections of their legs and wings) and black wing membranes. The nose of this species is very pronouced and triangular. This is a characteristic of the Phyllostomids which are often referred to as leaf-nosed. Other Physical Features: endothermic bilateral symmetry Reproduction: As with most phyllostomids, the litter size is rarely more than one. Reproduction is also timed so the young are not born during the rainy season. Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate) sexual Behavior: This species of bat belongs to a group of bats classified as "tent making " bats. The bats cut the veins of large plant leaves, usually Heliconia sp., and form them into an upside-down V shape. They then diurnally roost under the leaves. This "tent" is made about 6 feet in the air horizontal to the ground. The bats use many different tents all of which are roughly the same size. Each individual tent houses groups as small as 1-2 or as large as 12. The tent is used to protect the bats from rain, the sun, and predators. The bats are so confident in their concealment within the tent that they will not take flight unless the main stem of the leaf is disturbed. Key Behaviors: motile Communication and Perception Perception Channels tactile chemical Food Habits Ectophylla alba is a frugivorous species. Economic Importance for Humans: Positive No documented examples. Economic Importance for Humans: Negative No documented examples. Conservation Status: There is currently no special status but the cutting of rainforests could locally effect populations. IUCN Red List Near Threatened: More information. Other Comments: This species has a dark pigmented covering on its skull which is assumed to reduce the amount of UV light absorption. Their white fur also appears a greenish color when the sun shines through their "leaf tents". This coloring effectively camouflages the bats when they are in their tents. Due to their small size, harsh habitat, and very effective camouflage this bat species is difficult to study. Original article: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Ectophylla_alba/

[bat-fanatics-united]

  (Macrotus californicus)

The California Leaf Nosed Bat

 (Phyllostomidae) Macrotus californicus California leaf-nosed bat  Family Name: Phyllostomidae Genus: Macrotus Species Name: californicus  Pronunciation: ma-crow-tus cal-a-forn-a-cus    Common Name: California leaf-nosed bat

The California leaf-nosed bat is the only bat in the United States to have large ears and a nose leaf. It is also one of the most maneuverable in flight. With short, broad wings, it can fly at low speeds using minimal energy.

This bat is a "gleaning" insectivore which captures prey such as crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and sphinx moths straight from the ground or foliage rather than in flight. It typically hunts within a few feet of the ground using its superior eyesight to search for insects. California leaf-nosed bats do not hibernate, nor do they migrate. They can be found in Sonoran and Mojave Desert scrub habitats in the Colorado River valley in southern California, Nevada and Arizona, and throughout western Mexico. They are susceptible to human disturbance which can be especially detrimental to the species during summer months when these bats are rearing young.

Human disturbance of caves in which they roost is a major threat. Furthermore, because they often roost in abandoned mines, reclamation practices and re-working old mines can severely impact populations.

Article: http://batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/species-profiles.html?task=detail&species=2441&country=43&state=all&family=all&limitstart=0

[bat-fanatics-united]

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/~/media/PDFs/Wildlife/batguide.ashx

It's a bit juvenile, but this guide is a wonderful way to learn how to identify bats from the US. If you don't live in the US you can ask me to find one for your country or region!!

[bat-fanatics-united]

(Diclidurus Scutatus) The Lesser Ghost Bat. 

  First record of the ghost bat Diclidurus scutatusPeters (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Emballonuridae) in São Paulo city, Brazil

  Primeiro relato do morcego-fantasma Diclidurus scutatusPeters (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Emballonuridae) na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil

    Miriam M. SodréI; Wilson UiedaII

ICentro de Controle de Zoonoses do Município de São Paulo. Rua Santa Eulália 86, Santana, 02031-020 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail:[email protected]  IIDepartamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista. 18618-000 Botucatu, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail:[email protected]; [email protected]

    ABSTRACT

Because of their habits (fly high and harbor on palm leaves), there are few records of the ghost bat Diclidurus scutatus Peters, 1869. In Brazil, this species is known only from Northern region and this paper describes its first occurrence in Southeastern region. The ghost bat was found died on the window sill of a 9th floor apartment of a residential building in the urban area in the city of São Paulo, São Paulo State. Probably this bat must live at Serra da Cantareira, one of the Atlantic forest fragment nearby São Paulo city.

Key words: Insectivorous bat; urban area.

RESUMO

Devido aos seus hábitos de voar alto e se abrigar em folhas de palmeiras, há poucos registros na literatura sobre o morcego Diclidurus scutatus Peters, 1869. No Brasil, essa espécie é conhecida somente na região Norte e o presente estudo descreve sua primeira ocorrência na região Sudeste. O morcego foi encontrado morto no parapeito da janela de um apartamento do nono andar, em um edifício residencial, na área urbana da cidade de São Paulo, estado de São Paulo. Provavelmente esse morcego devia viver na Serra da Cantareira, um fragmento da mata Atlântica, próximo da cidade de São Paulo.

Palavras-chave: Área urbana; morcego insetívoro.

    From 925 known species of Chiroptera (NOWAK 1994), only 47 species in 13 genus are members of the family Emballonuridae (KOOPMAN 1993). One of these genus is Diclidurus WIED (1820), which four neotropical species:D. albus, D. scutatus, D. isabellus and D. ingens. These species could be found from Mexico through Central America until South America (KOOPMAN 1993). There are few records of these species in Brazil and records are restricted to the States of Amazonas, Pará, Bahia and Espírito Santo (CUNHA-VIEIRA 1942, HUSSON 1962, VILLA-R. 1966, CEBALLOS & MEDELLIN 1987, NOWAK 1991, KOOPMAN 1993). With respect to D. scutatus, its presence was only recorded in Northern region of Brazil (CUNHA-VIEIRA 1942, KOOPMAN 1993, NOWAK 1994, EISENBERG & REDFORD 1999).

The present study describes the first occurrence of the ghost bat Diclidurus scutatus in the city of São Paulo (23º32'S, 46º37'W, 760 m high), São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil. São Paulo is the biggest city of Latin America and one of five biggest metropolitan areas of the world (IBGE 2000). The city is almost completely urbanized with many buildings that offer suitable conditions for several sinantropic species, including bats. The Centre of Zoonosis Control (CCZ), from the Health Secretary of São Paulo city, which frequently attend people on disturbance caused by bats. In April 24th 2004, the CCZ was called to take a died bat on the window sill of a 9thfloor apartment (aprox. 30 m high) of a residential building on Mandaqui quarter, northern area of the city. This ghost bat, an adult male, was deposited at the Museu de Zoologia of the Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil (MZUSP 32344).

The main measures of this D. scuttatus from São Paulo city are: forearm length = 58.9 mm; head and body length = 62.7mm; skull total length = 15.5 mm; upper tooth-row length = 7.5 mm; lower tooth-row = 7.2; weight = 13 g. The fur of bat consists of long silky hairs of white color and the basal part of the hair is greyished brown (Fig. 1). The wing skin and legs are also white. As it is an adult male, the bat has two glandular pouches on interfemoral membrane (HUSSON 1962).

    Because its rarity, with few individuals in the zoological collections, no information about its behavior and ecology could be found in literature. Probably this specimen of the ghost bat must live at Serra da Cantareira, one of the Atlantic forest fragment nearby São Paulo city, and it could forage high over urbanized areas.

The present note increases significantly the geographic distribution of D. scutatus, which was known in Brazil, only from northern region, where the ghost bat was described by Peters in 1869 (Type-locality: Belém, Pará).

article here: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-81752006000300042

[bat-fanatics-united]

White Nose Syndrome. 

Bats in the Eastern United States are getting sick from a mysterious illness. The bats found dead were found with a white fungus growing from their nose. Scientist are trying to find the cause. It's not looking good for our furry winged friends in the United States.

Here's a link where you can read more about it.

http://askabiologist.asu.edu/white-nose-syndrome

[noobtheloser]

Bring Reading Rainbow Back for Every Child, Everywhere.

Bring Reading Rainbow’s unlimited library of interactive books and video field trips to kids everywhere & help classrooms most in need!

A Kickstarter to bring back Reading Rainbow.

[potentialforart]

PLEASE

[bat-fanatics-united]

Not bat related, but relevant.

[bat-fanatics-united]

Okay, so I have to point this out because I feel like a bad person. Haha If you follow me and I don't follow back it's because I'm trying to keep everything on my dash solely related to bats. Same thing goes for if I unfollow you. (Sorry!) but if you want me to follow back you can follow my personal blog intervals-of-horrible-sanity and I will follow you back from that one!!

[bat-fanatics-united]

(Desmodus Rotundus) The Vampire Bat is not as bad as you think!

Behaviour: While most people would assume the Vampire Bat is one that is very harsh or even evil, it is quite the opposite. They are very caring and social creatures that are interesting to observe. The young will be well cared for by their mothers. Should she fail to return to the roost other mothers will care for the orphans so that they don’t die. They also share food with each other, and that is something no other species of bats have been seen taking part in. They are also known to roost with other species of bats and the single males roost separately, defending territories. While they don’t embrace them in their colony, they don’t fight for territory in a cave or other location. This is very interesting and further indicates that the Vampire Bat seems to feel more secure in larger numbers. These colonies can easily be in excess of more than 1,000 members. In very large caves there can be thousands of them that are taking up residence. As long as they feel safe in their habitat and they have access to food the number of the colony will continue to grow. It is common for the members to remain in the colony where they were born for their entire life. More at: http://www.batworlds.com/vampire-bat/

[awesomegrimeh]

Also the vampire bat drinks blood, but doesn’t go after humans normally. A vampire bat will usually go for blood of a cow or horse. Plus they walk like this!

[bat-fanatics-united]

Thank you for adding more info!