Bat Wallpapers

Bat Animals - photo wallpapers; Megawallpapers.org: A bat's small, furry body looks somewhat like that of a mouse, and at one time was thought to be a flying mouse. "Flittermouse " is the name once given to this animal. At other times the bat was likened to being a bird. Many fables relate these likenesses--as bird, mouse, and bat. Bat Trivia: In the sixth century B.C. Aesop was said to have related the story of a weasel and a bat. A weasel had caught a bat while hunting for birds. The quick-witted bat claimed he was not a bird, but a bat and was released. A short time later the same bat was captured by a weasel who was hunting for mice. This time the bat claimed he was not a mouse, but a bird and again gained his freedom. (Schober, The Lives of Bats, p. 9). A Roman fable tells a similar story. When the bird council passed a law banning all bats from the kingdom, the bats claimed that they were mice. When the bird council then banned mice, the bats claimed they were birds. Finally, all the beasts became angry with the bats. The bats feared for their lives and thereafter dared to fly only at night. (Schober, The Lives of Bats, p. 10). While early man could not determine which animal species the bat belonged, today we know that a bat is not a mouse nor a bird. Although both mammals, the bat is more closely related to primates than to rodents. Although bats can fly like a bird, they do not have feathers, build nests, or lay eggs. Bats are mammals. Their bodies are covered with fur. They are born live and not hatched from an egg. As babies they are fed milk by their mothers. Bats have lived on Earth for about 50 million years. There are nearly 1,000 species varying in size, color, body features, habitat, and diet living in all parts of the world except for most of the Arctic and all of Antarctica. The most diversity is found in South and Central America, while the most numbers are found in Africa. Forty-three different species are found in the United State alone. Bat Facts: Bats make up one fourth of all mammal species and are second in diversity only to rodents. More bats are found in the tropics than any other mammal. Flight: Bats are expert fliers. They have gone beyond the gliding and parachuting abilities of flying squirrels, lemurs, and possums. They are capable of true flight. Of the nearly 4,000 mammal species on earth, bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight. Although a bat's body is adapted to flight (the neck is short, the chest is massive with powerfully developed muscles, and the abdomen is narrow and tapering), in order to fly a body must have a wide, thin surface (airfoil) and the power to push it through the air (propulsion). In a bat, it is the wings that are both the airfoil and the propulsion system. Among vertebrates, bats, as well as birds, have been able to conquer the skies in active flight because of their wings. A bat's wing consists of bones that are very similar to the bones in a human arm and hand. Thus the name given to this animal order: "chiroptera", which is Greek for handwing. Long arm bones, with extra-long extended finger bones, are covered with a double layer of thin skin called a membrane. The membrane (or patagium), which looks similar to the skin between the toes of a duck's foot, is so thin you can see light through it. It is made up of fine blood vessels, elastic fibers and muscle fibers. The fibers help keep the flight membrane taut and aid in folding of the wing membrane when the bat is at rest. The membrane stretches over the arm bones and extended finger bones to the sides of the body and leg forming an airfoil surface. In some bats, this flight membrane may also extend between the legs and include the tail. The small clawed thumbs (often used for climbing) are left free. The second and third fingers, along with the membrane in between, give the wing a stiff leading edge similar to an airplane's, while the third finger forms the wing tip. Little flight advantage is found in bat species where the membrane is extended to include the tail. In bats that do have the tail membrane, it serves more to slow them down than to steer. In some bat species it is used as a pouch when catching insects. Bats fly through the air in a rowing motion. On the downstroke, the wing moves backwards and upwards. Then the wings are swung outwards and downwards. Finally they are drawn forward with the tips drawn almost together in front of the head forming the shape of an open umbrella. On the upstroke the wings are moved first upwards and then backwards. Many bats may fold their wings on the upstroke to reduce air resistance, but it is during the downstroke that both thrust and lift are achieved. Similar to birds, strong, large muscles provide powerful wing strokes that enable flight. While birds use the strong muscles fastened to their large breastbone, bats move their wings by using the large muscles in their backs and chests. Some of these muscles pull the wing up, while others bring them down. A bat's wings act like webbed hands. The bat can move its wings like we move our fingers enabling it to change its wings' shape rapidly to dart, flip, and turn quickly. Although birds use their tails to brake and steer, bats use their wings by folding one wing for a second and using one independently of the other. Many bats have also mastered hovering flight, similar to hummingbirds and helicopters, that enables them to remain stationery in flight, while other bats are able to achieve brief periods of gliding flight. [br] [br]

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