The most beautiful bats in the world (+ PHOTOS)

Bats are amazing animals that look quite sinister and traditionally cause hostility in people. However, the fear of these cute animals that we experience thanks to horror movie scriptwriters is not justified.

According to scientists, bats have been on this planet much longer than us - they even managed to catch dinosaurs.

Although there are indeed species of bats that feed on blood, most bats are absolutely harmless to humans. Moreover, some people keep bats as pets because these creatures are very social and love the attention of their owners. When the owner of the animal leaves somewhere, the bat languishes without communication and may even die of melancholy.

Our selection includes the most beautiful bats in the world. Yes, some of them look strange and scary - and this is the aesthetics of the disgusting in its purest form.

California Leafnose / Macrotus californicus

As the name implies, this representative of a large order of leaf-nosed insects lives in the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Adults do not grow more than 6 cm, and weigh from 15 to 20 grams. But the wingspan is quite impressive, reaching 30 cm. They love dry, warm deserts, in which they masterfully hunt insects.

For hibernation, they choose abandoned mines or residential buildings, but most of all they settle in large colonies in caves.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Simple bat

Bats are nocturnal. During the day they sleep, and at the same time they usually hide in various shelters, including underground. They are very fond of caves, tree hollows, earthen holes, as well as quarries and mines; they can hide under tree branches and under bird nests.

They usually live in small colonies of several dozen individuals. Although there are also more populous colonies, including those consisting of several different subspecies of bats. The colony of Brazilian folded lips, consisting of 20 million individuals, is considered to be the record in number today.

In winter, most bats hibernate. But some are capable of migrating like birds to warmer climes, covering distances of up to 1000 km. Hibernation, depending on the area, can reach 8 months.

Hibernation occurs upside down, by hanging on the hind legs. This turns out to be convenient so that you can immediately go on a flight, spending less effort and time. No energy is spent on hanging due to the structural features of the limbs.

Interesting fact: on the island of Borneo there is a unique carnivorous plant that attracts bats with special sounds. But it does not eat them, but on the contrary, provides its inflorescences to bats as a refuge. Animals leave their excrement for the plant, which it uses as fertilizer. In nature, such a symbiosis is unique.

For orientation in space and for hunting, they use echolocation, which helps them maneuver, control their flight altitude and distance to the walls of the cave. It is believed that during a hunt, bats become aware not only of the distance to the pursued target, but also the direction of its flight, and even what type of prey it belongs to.

White Leaf Beetle / Ectophylla alba

The inhabitant of Central and South America differs from its numerous relatives in its beautiful white body color, as well as its yellow nose and ears.

These beauties live in tropical rainforests, choosing caves high above sea level. They weigh only 7 grams and grow from 3.7 to 4.5 cm. Moreover, males are slightly larger than females.

The small bat prefers fruits in its diet, and the white leaf-nosed bat lives alone or in small groups of up to 6 individuals.

Habitat

Bats inhabit almost every corner on earth.
The exceptions are Antarctica, the Arctic and some parts of the continents, where the temperature does not rise above zero during the year. Another exception is oceanic and sea islands. But the bats simply could not get there. Scientists believe that if animals are taken to the islands, they will calmly take root and reproduce.

The largest populations are recorded in subtropical and tropical forests. Bats like warm climates and plenty of food. The warmer it is, the more insects, ripe fruits and pollen, and therefore food for growing colonies.

Indian flying fox / Pteropus giganteus

One of the largest species of flying mice has a head that resembles that of a dog, which is why the species is also called flying dogs.

The species is really large, because the wingspan reaches 130 cm, and the flying fox weighs from 900 to 1300 grams. And the range is limited to the Hindustan Peninsula.

They are nocturnal, so they see excellently in the dark, and echolocation is used only in extreme cases.

Horseshoe bats

These fliers got their name because of the horseshoe-shaped cartilaginous growth around their nose. This structure allows them to send echolocation signals through their nostrils. They live in the Eastern Hemisphere, “Russian” individuals inhabit only the territory of the Caucasus.

They begin hunting immediately after sunset and are most active in the first half of the night. Insectivores. The annual litter is only one cub.

Brown long-eared bat / Plecotus auritus

The second name is Ushan ordinary, and is named after its peculiar long ears, which have folds characteristic of the species in the lower part of the shells.

It is found on almost the entire continent of Eurasia, from Portugal to Kamchatka, in Central China and the Middle East. They spend the day in shelters, climbing into natural crevices, tree hollows or into the attics of houses.

Almost throughout its entire habitat, the species is classified as a rare, protected mammal.

Nocturnal

The short-eared mouse, also called the bat, is one of the subspecies of the smooth-nosed variety. It differs from other families of bats in its preference for complete darkness. Nocturnal bats fly out to hunt in the dead of night, when pitch darkness sets in.

This species of beautiful chiroptera is the most adapted of all to any living conditions, except for the Arctic cold. Therefore, it is distributed throughout the globe, except for the Arctic. Eats insects, gives birth to one, maximum two babies per year.

Large fruit-eating leaf-nosed insect / Artibeus lituratus

The small resident of Central and South America does not grow more than 101 mm in length, while the ears grow from 22 to 25 mm.

Their fur is short and smooth, usually dark brown in color, but their belly is light gray. They prefer to stay in groups of up to 20 individuals, and happily eat the fruits of various plants.

As zoologists say, this species is not in danger of extinction, but measures are still being taken to protect and maintain the proper population.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Flight of the Bat

Living together in a colony does not make bats gregarious. Animals do not perform any joint actions and also hunt exclusively alone. They also do not start families. Two individuals unite only at the moment of mating, and then immediately forget about each other.

Most bats that live in temperate climates begin breeding in the spring. Usually there are between two and five young in a litter, but the exact number varies greatly depending on environmental conditions. The female produces offspring once a year. She feeds the cubs until they develop wings. Maturation takes different times for different subspecies.

For small subspecies of bats, it typically takes 6 to 8 weeks until they become independent. For large subspecies of animals this period can reach four months. In the first week, the female usually takes the cub with her on night hunts. At the same time, he holds tightly to his mother during the flight. In the following weeks, he becomes heavy, so she leaves him in the shelter during the hunt.

Interesting fact: female bats have the ability to control their gestation time and also delay the birth of their offspring. They need this so that their offspring are born at a time when the amount of food is maximum. Very often, mating occurs in the fall, but fertilization occurs only in the spring.

The lifespan of bats directly depends on the specific subspecies. Mostly bats live 20 years, but there are subspecies with a life expectancy of no more than 5 years.

Red Hairtail / Lasiurus borealis

These amazing creatures live in North America, and by eating large quantities of insects, they help farmers preserve their crops.

This species is easily identified by the characteristic red color of its fur. They grow small and, like everyone else, are nocturnal. They spend daytime in dark secluded corners, hiding in caves or abandoned buildings.

Interestingly, females can give birth to twins and even quadruplets - double pairs of twins. In the first period, the female carries the cubs on her body, thereby giving them her warmth for life and development.

Spotted long-eared bat / Euderma maculatum

Very tiny bats with large ears in relation to the body live in North America, and in the USA they are protected by the state.

The body length of the spotted long-eared bat is 12 cm, and the tail grows up to 5 cm. Among other mice, they are distinguished by long pink ears and three white spots on their gray-brown back.

Females give birth to one cub, and, like many other species, the bat cub cannot fly for the first month and is under the care of the mother.

general characteristics

Bats are the only mammals that can fly. There are many differences within the species, including in appearance, lifestyle and size. For example, the smallest species is the hog-nosed bat, its body dimensions do not exceed 3.3 cm, and its weight does not exceed 2 g. The wingspan is approximately 16 cm. The hog-nosed bat is not only the smallest in the order Chiroptera, but also among the ten smallest animals on the planet. The largest representative of the order is considered to be a giant false vampire, its body length is about 40 cm, its wingspan can reach 75 cm, and the weight of a mature individual is from 150 to 220 g.

Within a species, mice differ not only in appearance, but also in the structure of their teeth and skull. These features were formed due to evolution and the way of nutrition. Bats have a heterodont dental system, like other mammals. The dental formula consists of canines, incisors, molars and radicular teeth.

Lesser pipistrelle / Pipistrellus pygmaeus

In a large genus of pipistrelle bats, this is its smallest representative, not growing more than 45 mm. But its wings are from 18 to 21 cm.

Widely distributed throughout Europe, and settles near rivers and small streams. This is due to the fact that its diet is dominated by aquatic midges and land insects.

Buildings and, less often, tree hollows are chosen as resting places. They fly out to hunt at dusk, and spend time in shelters during the day.

White-bellied Arrowhead / Otonycteris hemprichii

A small mammal from the order Chiroptera was named after a German zoologist, and therefore in some reference books you can find the name Hemprich's arrow-eared bird.

The range of this wonderful creature is limited to Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula; it can also be found in the desert regions of Morocco. Their belly is light, but their back is covered with dark brown or sand-colored fur.

It lives in rock crevices, as well as in residential buildings, and is active at night, hunting insects.

Sense organs

Bats' response to light: The bat's retina lacks cones , the receptors responsible for daytime vision.

Their vision is twilight and is provided by rods. Therefore, during the day, animals are forced to sleep , since in daylight they see poorly.

Some representatives have eyes covered with bizarre folds of skin. This once again confirms the hypothesis that mice do not orient themselves in space using a visual analyzer . Close relatives of bats, fruit bats, also belonging to the order Chiroptera, have cones. These animals can also be seen during the day.

The secondary role of the visual analyzer for animals was revealed during a simple experiment : when the animals were blindfolded, they did not stop navigating their surroundings. When the same was repeated with the ears, the mice began to bump into walls and objects in the room.

Bats bring undoubted benefits to gardens and farms. In the dark, when birds are inactive, they massively destroy not only insect pests, but also small rodents. Read our articles about what these mysterious animals eat and what their habitat is.

Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat / Rhinolophus blasii Peters

Lives in Europe, North Africa, found in the mountainous regions of Transcaucasia, Asia Minor and Western Asia. In the USSR, and now in Russia, it is listed in the Red Book.

The body length is 46 - 54 mm, and the forearm reaches a length of 49 mm. They spend the day in mountain caves, choosing the most humid places, and at night they fly out to hunt, catching insects until dawn.

About the favorite habitats of bats, read on most-beauty.ru a fascinating article about mysterious and beautiful caves.

They prefer to stay in groups of 12-20 individuals, but they also feel great alone. The front part of the muzzle has an unusual outgrowth in the form of a horseshoe or saddle. Based on this characteristic, several types of horseshoe bats are distinguished.

Interesting Facts

Despite many years of research into the species, many facts about bats still remain a mystery. Yes, and known information can surprise or shock ordinary people.

Interesting Facts:

Regardless of the location of the shelter, bats always fly to the left side of the entrance.
Bats have a fast metabolism, so they must eat a lot and often. For example, an average-sized mouse can eat about 600 mosquitoes per night. If translated into human standards, then such a portion will be equal to 20 pizzas.
During World War II, there were attempts to use folded lips as carriers of explosive shells. A small bomb was attached to the winged “saboteurs” and released over enemy territory. The timer went off when the frightened mouse hid under the roof of the house. The bomb exploded, and the mixture set fire to garbage and other rubbish in the attic.
Flocks of bats accompany wild and domestic herds that roam the pastures. Small but agile mice eat insects that annoy animals at night.
Substances contained in vampire saliva prevent blood clotting. Based on these substances, scientists have developed a drug for blood clots to prevent strokes.
In European mythology and culture, bats are associated with dark forces. And in China, night flyers are positive animals that bring joy and happiness.
Bats destroy mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects in large numbers. An important fact is that winged orderlies eat sleeping colonies of mosquitoes that have not yet begun to reproduce. According to research, killing a dozen sleeping insects is more effective than killing 1,000 flying bloodsuckers.
Only small species prey on mosquitoes; larger insectivores prefer larger food sizes. They eat many dangerous garden and garden pests. They even build special daytime shelters in agricultural fields to lure night hunters.
All bats, with the exception of vampires, feed on plant foods, fish and insects. They are non-aggressive and never attack people.
Vampires prefer to avoid humans and hunt exclusively animals.
Stories about mice attacking or getting tangled in a person's hair are myths based on subconscious fears. Flyers have a perfect echolocation system, so they can accidentally fall or crash into a person only if they themselves are on the verge of death.
Despite the fact that mice are not inherently dangerous and do not attack people, they pose a real threat. The thing is that they can be carriers of dangerous diseases and are often carriers of the most terrible viruses.
Species that feed on pollen and fruit pollinate plants along with insects. They also spread seeds and spores.
Bat droppings (guano) are a source of nitrogen and phosphorus. Mice excrement is used industrially to fertilize crops.

How do bats navigate in the dark?

Bats navigate in space using echolocation (reflected sound waves). The human ear is unable to detect ultrasound, so many people believe that mice can only squeak.

Depending on the species, animals reproduce sound differently.

Some use their mouth, others use their nose. Mice that emit sound waves through their nostrils have curious projections on their noses that help focus the signal.

Ultrasound reaches the object and the mouse “hears” the reflected waves. This signal is so accurate that flyers can identify an object no larger than 0.1 mm in size and even recognize its density. Using echolocation in complete darkness, winged hunters not only “see” their prey, but can also calculate its speed. When approaching prey, mice make sounds at an incredible speed of up to 250 screams per second.

Some insects have learned to “deceive” the echolocation of bats. At the first sign of danger, the insect sits on a branch or falls to the ground like a stone. This disrupts the fine tuning, the reflected waves are “blurred”, showing the overall picture.

Spectacled flying fox / Pteropus conspicillatus

In the lowland and humid tropical forests of Australia, as well as the islands of Oceania, you can meet the spectacled flying fox from the fruit bat family.

They grow up to 22 mm in length, and their wingspan is 1 m. They are distinguished not only by such huge wings, but also by characteristic circles around their eyes, making them look like monkeys.

These mice feed on fruits, drink nectar and eat flowers of tropical plants. Babies, after birth, live next to their mother for up to 5 months.

Nutrition

The structure of the teeth in each of the representatives of this suborder is different and directly depends on the feeding method of a particular species. Blood-sucking species have few teeth, only 20 pieces, but they are famous for their long fangs. Other bats have 38 of them.

However, their teeth are blunter and serve more likely to grind rough food that enters the mouth. Some blood-sucking species are able to cause significant harm to their victims, because the enzymes that enter the victim’s blood along with the saliva of attacking animals during a bite can provoke significant blood loss.

And if the attack is carried out by a whole group, for example, ordinary vampires, a fatal outcome is more than likely.

As already mentioned, night for such creatures is the time of hunting, and their active life begins with the last ray of the setting sun. These flying mammals do not see their victims, but hear them, catching their slightest movement.

Insectivorous species, in addition to winged little things and crawling insects, are capable of eating earthworms, small fish, and frogs. There are also enough species that eat exclusively fruits and drink flower nectar.

Yellow-winged False Vampire / Lavia frons

This cute little animal is the only representative of the Lavia genus, and it lives in Central Africa.

With a body size of only 60-80 mm, the wingspan is 35 cm. They settle in dense forests near water bodies and spend the night on tree branches.

This species forms monogamous families and occupies a certain territory, which is protected by the male. The distance between the resting places of individual couples does not exceed 20 m.

Vechernitsa

One of the largest families of night shadows. It has 8 species with 13 subspecies. Inhabits the lands of North Africa and European countries. The largest bat of all bats. It can grow up to 50 cm. The animal settles in dense deciduous plantings and ignores open space.

Noctules fly out to hunt at dusk and in the predawn hours. They eat beetles and butterflies, but especially large individuals attack small birds. In addition to the largest sizes, they also have the fastest flight. Speed - 60 km/h at an altitude of 100 m. This species does not like frost, so it migrates to warm lands for the winter, covering about 1000 km. There may be two, rarely three cubs in a litter.

Malayan short-nosed fruit bat / Cynopterus brachyotis

The short-nosed fruit bat lives in southern and southeastern Asia and feeds on mangoes, although it can also eat other tropical fruits.

For the flora of this region of the planet, it plays an important role in plant pollination, since the mouse’s diet includes nectar and pollen. They weigh only 21-32 grams, and their life expectancy is 20-30 years.

At birth, the baby of this unique fruit bat can fit on the tip of a human finger.

Benefits for nature and people

The high rate of metabolic processes in the body of bats forces them to eat large amounts of food. These animals, together with birds, restrain the growth of the number of insects, including pests. Herbivorous bats that feed on nectar provide benefits by pollinating plants. Mice saliva is used for medicinal purposes, and droppings are used as organic fertilizer.

FLYING SQUIRREL

Gambian epaulette fruit bat / Epomops franqueti

The African bat with such a sonorous species name feeds on figs and loves to eat mangoes and guava.

It grows up to 18 cm with a wingspan of up to 60 cm. They have soft brown fur on the body, but the abdomen is white. There are also white epaulets on the shoulders, and white spots on the ears.

They live in the central part of the African continent, and according to zoologists, the species is quite stable, which does not threaten the population decline.

California leaf-nosed bat

You can meet these amazing creatures in the warm deserts of Mexico and the USA. California leaf-nosed bats are harmless and do not drink blood - they prefer to feed on grasshoppers, butterflies and moths.

These babies weigh from twelve to twenty grams and have a body length of about six centimeters. The wingspan of the Californian leaf bat can reach thirty centimeters. They have funny long ears and a soft brown coat.

Gray Hairtail / Lasiurus cinereus

One hour after sunset, these mice begin to hunt moths and other insects, flying quickly between trees at a height of 10 meters.

The body length of the inhabitant of North and South America reaches 9 cm, and weight from 14 to 26 grams. The hairtail received its specific name because of the color of its short fur.

During the day they sleep high on the branches, hiding in the dense foliage of trees at a height of 3-5 m. By climbing so high, they escape from natural enemies that can attack them while sleeping.

Natural enemies

Bats have practically no enemies, since no one deliberately hunts them.
But many large nocturnal birds are not averse to feasting on quick prey. Mice can also be eaten by snakes, weasels, ferrets or martens. But the damage to the population from natural enemies is so small that it is not taken into account by statistics.

The greatest harm to populations comes from destructive human activity. Every year, the areas suitable for mice to live in are shrinking. Many flyers die due to chemical treatment of fields, fires and deforestation.

Madagascar fruit bat / Eidolon dupreanum

This cute inhabitant of Madagascar is found both on the coast and on the plateaus of the central part of the island.

The wingspan of this fruit bat reaches 78 cm, and the body length ranges from 14 to 22 cm. It feeds on fruits, but also happily eats the leaves of tropical trees.

Like many species, it is nocturnal and spends daylight hours in caves, gathering in colonies of 20 to 500 individuals. Interestingly, the similar climate of Africa did not attract this species, and it is found only in Madagascar.

Skeleton and wings

The skeleton of a bat has its own characteristics. The limbs of bats are modified: they serve as the backbone for the wing . The humerus of these animals is short, and the bones of the forearm and the last 4 fingers are elongated in order to increase the area of the flight “mantle”.

A fibrous skin fold is stretched from the neck to the fingertips of the animals. The thumb with a prehensile claw is not included in the wing; the animal needs it for grasping . The rear (interfemoral) part of the membrane is stretched between the hind legs and the long tail.

See what bat wings look like in the photo below:

Hog-nosed Bat / Craseonycteris thonglongyai

The rare and only pig-nosed species today was discovered relatively recently, only in 1973.

You can meet a small cute creature that does not grow more than 2.4 cm only in one of the provinces of Thailand. In the early 80s, only 160 individuals lived in three caves; today zoologists say that there are about 500 of them.

Note that this bat is the smallest, and also the smallest mammal living on our planet.

Structure

Birds have adapted to flight thanks to lightweight cellular bones, air sacs in the lungs, and feathers that are heterogeneous in structure and function. Flying bats do not have all this , and the skin membranes can hardly be called wings.

How do bats fly? The flight of mice is similar to the flight of the flying machine of Leonardo da Vinci , who adopted from nature the idea of the structure of the wing of a flying mammal.

A solid membrane of skin, impenetrable by air, “covers” the air masses from above, which allows the animals to push off from them and fly.