Microchiroptera
| 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The microbats constitute the now outdated suborder Microchiroptera within the order Chiroptera (bats).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.
Microbats generate ultrasound via the larynx and emit the sound through the nose or the open mouth. Microbat 
calls range in frequency from 14,000 to over 100,000 hertz, well beyond the range of the human ear (typical human hearing range is considered to be from 20 to 20,000 Hz). The emitted vocalizations form a broad beam of sound used to probe the environment, as well as communicate with other bats.
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Wikipedia