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Bats (order Chiroptera, Wiktionary:Bat) are flying mammals with forelimbs developed as wings. While other mammals such as flying squirrels or gliding phalangers can only glide limited distances, the bats are the only mammals truly able to fly. The name Chiroptera can be translated as Hand Wing, as the structure of the open wing is very similar to an outspread human hand, covered in a membrane.
Though the vast majority of bats are insectivorous, a significant number from both suborders, Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera (see below), have developed to feed on fruit and fruit juices, including some of the smaller species that are important pollinators of some tropical flowers, indeed many tropical plants are now found to be totally dependent for them not just as pollinators, but eating the resulting fruits and so spreading their seeds.
Predatory bats, ie. those that eat other vertebrates occur in several families, especially in the American Leaf-nosed bats Phyllostomidae of central and South America including the allied family Noctilionidae or Bulldog bats that feed on fish.
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Megabats eat fruit, while microbats eat mainly insects, and often rely on echolocation for navigation and finding prey. A handful of species, the vampire bats, feed on blood.
Once it was believed, that megabats and microbats developed independently. The shared characteristics would be a result of convergent evolution. After numerous genetic analyses it seems clear, that both groups have a common ancestor and are therefore related to each other.
Little is known about the evolution of bats since their small, delicate skeletons do not fossilize well. The oldest known bat fossils are Icaronycteris, Archaeonycteris, Palaeochiropteryx and Hassianycteris from the early Eocene (about 50 million years ago), but they are already very similar to modern microbats.
Bats are usually grouped with the tree shrews (Scandentia), colugos (Dermoptera), and the primates in superorder Archonta.
The patagium is full of fine blood vessels, muscle fibres and nerves. When it's cold, the bats wrap themselves up in their wings like in a coat. In warm weather they stir the wings in order to cool their bodies.
The thumb and sometimes the second toe of the forelimbs wear claws, as do all five toes of the hindlimbs. The rear claws enable the bat to hang itself on to a tree branch, a ledge or something else. Bats are also able to move on the ground, but it appears rather clumsy. Even if a bat falls into the water, it can manage to reach the shore.
All bats are active at night or at twilight, so the eyes of most species are poorly developed. (There are some exceptions with rather large eyes.) Instead the nose and the ears are excellent. The microbats use an echolocation organ to orient themselves.
The teeth resemble those of the insectivores. They are very sharp in order to bite through the chitin armour of insects or the skin of fruits.
The ability to fly is congenital, but after birth the wings are too small to fly. Young microbats become independent at the age of 6 to 8 weeks, megabats not until they are four months old. At the age of two years bats are sexually mature.
The worst enemies are parasites. The membranes with all their blood vessels are ideal food sources for fleas, ticks and mites. Some groups of insects suck exclusively bat blood, e.g. the bat flies. In their caves the bats are hanging close together, so it is easy for the parasites to change host.
Of the very few cases of rabies reported in the United States every year, most are caused by bat bites. Although most bats do not have rabies, those that do may be clumsy, disoriented, and unable to fly, which make it more likely that they will come into contact with humans. Although one should not have an unreasoning fear of bats, one should avoid handling them or having them in one's living space, as with any wild animal. If a bat is found in living quarters near a child, mentally handicapped person, intoxicated person, sleeping person, or pet, the person or pet should receive immediate medical attention for rabies. Bats have very small teeth and can bite a sleeping person without necessarily being felt.
If a bat is found in a house and the possibility of exposure cannot be ruled out, the bat should be sequestered and an animal control officer called immediately, so that the bat can be analyzed. This also applies if the bat is found dead. If it is certain that nobody has been exposed to the bat, it should be removed from the house. The best way to do this is to close all the doors and windows to the room except one to the outside. The bat should soon leave.
Due to the risk of rabies and also due to health problems related to their guano, bats should be excluded from inhabited parts of houses. For full detailed information on all aspects of bat management, including how to capture a bat, what to do in case of exposure, and how to bat-proof a house humanely, see the Centers for Disease Control's website on bats and rabies.
Where rabies is not endemic, small bats can be considered as harmless. Larger bats can give a nasty bite. Treat them with the respect due to any other wild animal.
In Western Culture, the bat is often a symbol of the night and its forboding nature. The bat is a primary animal associated with fictional characters of the night such as both villains like Dracula and heroes like Batman. The association of the fear of the night with the animal treated as a literary challenge by Kenneth Oppall who created a best selling series of novels beginning with Silverwing which feature bats as the central heroic figures much in a similar manner as the classic novel Watership Down did for rabbits.
In the United Kingdom all bats are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Acts, and even disturbing a bat or its roost can be punished with a heavy fine.
A bat is also a piece of equipment used in baseball and cricket. When plural (Bats), it is a name of a Caucasian folk and language. In Egyptian mythology, Bat is an alternate spelling for Bata.
The Bat is an operetta by Johann Strauss II as well a brand name for a third-party email client for Microsoft Windows.
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