Insectivorous bat
| Microbats | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Townsend's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Suborder: |
Microchiroptera Dobson, 1875 |
| Superfamilies | |
|
Emballonuroidea |
|
Emballonuroidea
Rhinopomatoidea
Rhinolophoidea
Vespertilionoidea
Molossoidea
Nataloidea
Noctilionoidea
The microbats constitute the now outdated suborder Microchiroptera within the order Chiroptera (bats). Bats were once differentiated into Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera, based on their size; but available molecular evidence has now shown this to be incorrect, the horseshoe bats being included in Yinpterochiroptera with the fruit bats and others. Most species which were termed Microchiroptera are now referred to as the Yangochiroptera.
The distinctions between microbats and megabats are:
Microbats are 4 to 16 cm long.
Most microbats feed on insects. Some of the larger species hunt birds, lizards, frogs, smaller bats or even fish.
The only three species of microbat that feed on the blood of large mammals or birds ("vampire bats") live in South and Central America.
The term "leaf-nose" does not indicate the diet preferred by particular species and is applied to a wide variety of microbats. Most leaf-nosed microbat species are fruit and nectar-eating. However, three species follow the bloom of columnar cacti in northwest Mexico and the Southwest United States northward in the northern spring and then the blooming agaves southward in the northern fall (autumn). Other leaf-nosed bats, such as Vampyrum spectrum of South America, hunt a variety of prey such as lizards and birds. The horseshoe bats of Europe and California leaf-nosed bat have an incredibly intricate leaf-nose for echolocation and feed primarily on insects.
Echolocation is the process where an animal produces a sound of certain wavelength, and then listens to and compares the reflected echoes to the original sound emitted. Bats use echolocation to form images of their surrounding environment and the organisms that inhabit it by eliciting ultrasonic waves via their larynx. The difference between the ultrasonic waves produced by the bat and what the bat hears provides the bat with information about its environment. Echolocation aids the bat in not only detecting prey, but also in orientation during flight.
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Wikipedia