Echolocation and Wing Morphology: The Dynamic Duo of Bat Evolution
Study shows that echolocation frequency and wing shape of bats evolve in unison, which leads to distinct ‘foraging syndromes’ adapted to different environments. Bats are…
Bats News
Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight with their webbed, winged limbs. However, their capability of spreading disease can cause many different issues. At SciTechDaily.com, you can read the latest science news on bats, their impact on ecology, and their impact on disease.
52-Million-Year-Old Bat Skeleton Unveils New Species and Clues to Evolution of Flying Mammals
52-million-year-old fossils support idea that bats diversified rapidly on multiple continents during the Eocene. Scientists have discovered a new bat species, Icaronycteris gunnelli, based on…
Tails of Survival: The Luna Moth’s Secret Weapon Against Bats
Researchers found that Luna moth tails primarily serve to misdirect bat attacks, with no additional mating advantages or increased visibility to bird predators. In a…
Batesian Mimicry: These Bats Scare Off Predators by Buzzing Like Hornets
In Batesian mimicry, a harmless species imitates a more dangerous one in an evolutionary “ruse” that protects the mimic from would-be predators. Now, researchers reporting…
Echolocation: Bats Use Different Inner Ear Structures To Help Navigate the World Through Sound
New study is first anatomical evidence for how two major groups of bats use echolocation differently. Two major groups of bats that use echolocation have…
Solving a Complex Puzzle: How Bats, Wolves and Moths Can Shape Our Lives
By studying intersection of ecology and economics, Asst. Prof. Eyal Frank helps solve a complex puzzle. What happens if you reintroduce wolves into certain areas?…
Advanced Echolocation: Bats Use Echoes of Own Vocalizations To Anticipate Location, Trajectory of Prey
Echolocation Builds Prediction Models of Prey Movement Bats are not only using their acoustical abilities to find a meal — they are also using it…
Female Vampire Bats Prefer To Forage for Blood With Friends
Tagging reveals that closely bonded female bats leave the roost separately but reunite when hunting. During nightly foraging trips, female vampire bats preferentially meet up…
I Get Blood With a Little Help From My Friends: Vampire Bats May Coordinate With “Friends” Over a Bite To Eat
Study tracks foraging behavior of 50 bats in the wild. Vampire bats that form bonds in captivity and continue those “friendships” in the wild also…
Bat Guts Become Less Healthy From Diet of “Fast Food” From Banana Plantations
Banana plantations are a reliable food source for nectar-feeding bats, but their effect on the bat’s gut microbiota is akin to that of a fast…
Moth Wingtips Structured To Reflect Sound: An “Acoustic Decoy” To Thwart Bat Attack
Wingtips of certain species of silkmoth are structured to reflect sound and throw off attackers, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of…
Blood-Sucking Bugs Find Bats To Bite Thanks to Bacteria
Blood-sucking flies may be following chemicals produced by skin bacteria to locate bats to feed on. We humans aren’t the only animals that have to…
Babbling Baby Bats Sound Strikingly Similar to Human Infants
More than anything else, language defines human nature. Speech, the vocal output of language, requires precise control over our vocal articulators, including tongue, lips and…
Bats in Switzerland Harbor Diverse Viruses – Some With Risk of Jumping to Humans
New analysis identifies some viruses with potential risk to jump to other animals or humans, including the near-complete genome of a MERS-CoV-related virus. An analysis…
Creating a Phantom River: Experimental Broadcast of Whitewater River Noise Drives Bats and Birds Away
While many might consider a walk in the woods to be a quiet, peaceful escape from their noisy urban life, we often don’t consider just…
Bats’ Surprising “Supersense” of Time: They Know the Speed of Sound From Birth
A new Tel Aviv University study has revealed, for the first time, that bats know the speed of sound from birth. In order to prove…
Experiments Show Cryptic Sixth Sense of Orientation of Bats Lies in the Eye
Mammals see with their eyes, hear with their ears and smell with their nose. But which sense or organ allows them to orient themselves on…
If COVID Spread to North American Bats, It Could Be Disastrous – Here Is the Current Risk Assessment
The risk is low that scientists could pass coronavirus to North American bats during winter research, according to a new study led by the U.S….
