Oh, Those Poor Bats

The BBC has a story about bat, suffering from hunger, who are out foraging in daylight:

Vampire Bat on A Treadmill

Does one ever need a good reason to post videos of bats – especially vampire bats?

FoxP2 and Echolocation in Bats and Whales

As I mentioned previously PLOS has an interesting paper on echolocation in bats and whales (you may also recall this post on echolocation in whales). The PloS One paper looks at the FoxP2 gene in bats, cetaceans and various other animals.

FOXP2 and Echolocation

The FOXP2 gene has been been implicated in evolution of human language and now, according to Science Daily, the gene has a role in echolocation as well. The research is being published in PLOS One (I haven’t had a chance to read it yet so I am relying on Science Daily). According to Science Daily:

Vampire Bats and Stable Isotope Analysis

Science Daily reports on research using stable isotope analysis to identify whether vampire bats are feeding on domestic cattle or wild mammals:

Sucker-footed Bats

According to Science Daily scientists have discovered a new species of bat in Madagascar. The twist is that the bas has suckers or adhesive organs on its thumbs and hind feet.

Babbling Bats

Below is a picture of Saccopteryx bilineata also known as the sac-winged bat: According to and article on New Scientist the pups have a pretty unique ability.

Bats Transmit Cultural Information Through Sound

Recently, I wrote a post on how bats used sound to recognize individual prey items based on breathing patterns. Today, Science Daily has a story on bats using sound to transmit cultural information.

Vampire Bats and Prey Recognition

Vampire bats recognize individual prey by the unique sounds of the preys breathing according to a study in BMC Biology. Researchers examind the ability of vampire bats to detect breathing cues from prey items.

Fossil Bats

The above is a picture of Icaronycteris, a fossil bat from the Eocene. Why am I talking about fossil bats?

Big Brains Means Small Testes

According to a new study reported by New Scientist there is a correlation between brain size ans testes size in…bats. Researchers examined 334 species of bats for the studies. They found an inverse correlation between brain size and testes size. They relate the results to breeding systems. In bat species with highly promiscuous females, male [...]

Okay, Bats are Weirder than I Thought

Okay,Bats are weirder than I thought. Specifically, Greater Horseshoe bats. According to National Geographic News several generations of female greater horseshoe bats mate with the same male: During their life span, most female greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) revisit and breed with a specific male, according to a new study.That means offspring born in different [...]

The Evolution of Bats

A while back I provided links on the evolution of the eye. Here are two links for a fascinating discovery concerning the evolution of bats. Bats Evolution