Bats usually only come out for food at night. Please use physical language to explain how bats determine the location and distance of their targets.

Most bats also have a keen auditory orientation (or echolocation) system, which can emit ultrasonic waves through the throat, and then identify the direction and detect the target according to the response of the ultrasonic waves. Some kinds of faces have evolved special structures to increase sonar reception, such as nose wings, wrinkled faces and complex big ears.

Bats vary greatly in size. The largest flying fox bat's wingspan is 1.5m, while Kitty's pig-nosed bat's wingspan is only 15cm. Bats vary greatly in color, fur texture and facial appearance. The wings of bats evolved from forelimbs in the process of evolution. Each finger of the forelimb is extremely elongated except the thumb, and there is a flying membrane connecting the forearm and the upper arm down to the side of the body until the ankle of the lower limb. There are claws at the end of the thumb.

Most bats also have two membranes between their legs, consisting of dark and bare skin. Bats have noses like rodents or foxes. The outer ear protrudes forward, usually very large and elastic. Many bats also have nasal lobes, which are composed of skin and connective tissue and flap around or above their nostrils. It is believed that the alar affects vocalization and echolocation.

Bats have well-developed pectoral muscles, keel-like processes in sternum and well-developed clavicle, all of which are related to their special sports methods. It can fly well, but it needs to glide when it takes off, and it is difficult to fly again once it lands. When flying, the hind legs extend backwards to balance. Bats have short necks; And the hips and legs are slender.

Except for the wing membrane, bats have hair all over their bodies, and their backs are gray, brown, brown or black with different shades, and their bellies are lighter in color. Bats living in open areas often have spots or mottled patches on their fur, which are arranged naturally and have different colors.

Bats have different food habits, or prey, or help pollinate and spread fruits, thus affecting the natural order. Vampire bats are a serious problem for human beings. The excrement of insect-eating bats is used as fertilizer in agriculture.

Extended data

Living habits

1, nocturnal

Bats are nocturnal, usually in groups, and the number can reach one million. Some species in temperate regions migrate before winter, mainly inhabiting caves, tree holes and forests.

2. reproduction

Their fertility is not high, and there is a phenomenon of "delayed fertilization", that is, fertilization does not occur during mating before hibernation, and sperm spend the winter in the female reproductive tract. After waking up in the next spring, the mating females begin to ovulate and fertilize, and then get pregnant and give birth. ?

Bats breed once a year, pregnant for about 2-6 months, and give birth to one fetus at a time. In summer, the female bat gives birth to a fully developed larva. The newborn baby is covered with fluff, and its claws are firmly hung on its mother's chest to suck milk, so that it will not fall off when her mother flies.

3. Eating habits

Bats have various eating habits. Some species like nectar and fruit, others like to eat fish, frogs and insects, suck animal blood and even eat other bats. Generally speaking, big bats generally feed on fruits or nectar, while small bats mostly prey on insects. Many bats in tropical and subtropical regions feed on the fruits of plants. They eat a lot.

About 70% bats prey on insects, and they usually send out ultrasonic waves to explore their prey, mostly in the air. Bats are very agile in catching prey. Through high-speed photography, it is found that some bats prey directly with their mouths, some intercept their prey with their wings, and some use their tail membranes to scoop worms into their mouths like spoons. There are many ways to hunt. Bats eat a lot of insects and can eat about one third of the dead insects every night.

There are few carnivorous bats. There may be two kinds of fake vampire bats that often prey on rodents, birds, frogs and lizards. At present, little is known about their behavior, and it is not certain whether they are active predators. Some bats can fish, and Mexican harelip bats can catch more than 30 small fish in one night.

The only fish-eating bats are Mexican rabbit-lipped bat, Sonora mouse-eared bat and Bigfoot mouse-eared bat. Fish-eating bats are characterized by long legs and big feet, and sharp hooked claws on their toes. When hunting, stick close to the water surface, use ultrasonic waves to detect the waves aroused by small fish, and wait for an opportunity to catch the prey with their feet.

The life habits of honey-sucking bats are similar to hummingbirds. They have evolved features suitable for sucking honey, such as a slender nose and mouth, a suddenly smaller jaw and a slender and malleable tongue. While sucking honey, bats also pollinate plants, especially some plants that open at night (such as gourd trees and cacti).

Step 4 hibernate

Bats generally have the habit of hibernating. Since autumn, a layer of fat has accumulated in the lower abdomen of bats, and the weight before hibernation has become more than 1.5 times that of summer. When hibernating, the ability of metabolism is reduced, breathing and heartbeat are only a few times per minute, blood flow slows down, body temperature drops to the same temperature as the environment, but hibernation is not deep, sometimes it will excrete and eat during hibernation, and it will return to normal immediately after waking up.

Baidu encyclopedia-night swallow

Baidu encyclopedia -bat