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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
bats |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Chiroptera
(hand wing) |
| SUBORDER: |
Megachiroptera
& Microchiroptera |
| FAMILY: |
18
families |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
180
genera, 900 species |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Varies
according to species |
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| SIZE: |
Largest
wingspan - flying foxes 2 meters (78.74 in.)
Smallest wingspan - bumblebee bat 16 cm (6.24 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
14
g - 1.5 kg (0.5 oz. - 3.3 lb.) |
|
| DIET: |
Fruits,
flowers, leaves, insects, frogs, fish, small mammals,
reptiles, blood of vertebrates |
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| GESTATION: |
1.5-9
months depending on the species |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Unknown
for most species; those known range from 6 months
to 2 years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
4-30
years depending on the species |
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| RANGE: |
South
America, Africa, Southeast Asia (rainforests); Sahara,
Middle East and Southwest United States (hot arid
deserts). All continents except for Antarctica. |
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| HABITAT: |
Rainforests,
arid deserts |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Varies
according to species |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Some
species endangered |
| CITES |
Some
CITES I or II; some not listed. |
| USFWS |
In
the United States, nearly 40% of our bat species
are listed by USFWS as endangered species or are
candidates for it. |
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| 1. |
Bats
are the only flying mammals and comprise the second
largest order of mammals in the world. |
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| 2. |
A
bat's grasp is strong enough to hold its entire
body weight while its body hangs upside down. |
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| 3. |
Along
with whales, dolphins, and some shrew species many
bats use echolocation (sonar dependent on pulse
sounds and echoes) to identify and track prey. |
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| 4. |
Just
one insectivorous bat can eat 600 or more mosquitoes
in a single hour. |
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| Fruit
and nectar-eating bats are among the most important
seed dispersers and pollinators of tropical rain
forest trees and plants. Many economically important
crops such as bananas, avocados, vanilla, and peaches
are dependent upon bats for pollination. Bats are
valuable subjects for scientific and medical studies.
Insectivorous bats are essential in controlling
mosquito populations. Bat guano is a rich source
of saltpeter (potassium nitrate) which is used in
the production of gun powder and explosives and
is an excellent fertilizer. |
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| |
|
|
| Fenton,
Brock. Bats. New York: Facts on File, 1992. |
|
| Gotch,
A.F. Mammals - Their Latin Names Explained -
A Guide to Animal Classification. Poole, United
Kingdom: Blanford Press, 1979. |
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|
Hill,
John E., and James D. Smith. Bats - A Natural
History. Austin, Texas: University of Texas
Press, 1984.
|
|
| Parker,
Sybil P. Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals.
Vol. II, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990. |
|
| Tuttle,
Merlin. "They Carry the Seeds that Make the
Rain Forests Grow and the Deserts Bloom." Bat
Conservation International, Austin, 1990. |
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