Bat
Bats
Fossil range: 52–0 Ma
PreЄ
Є
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Late Paleocene – Recent
Townsend’s big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Infraclass:
Eutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria[1]
Order:
Chiroptera
Blumenbach, 1779
Suborders
See article
Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera
(pronounced /kaɪˈrɒptərə/). The forelimbs of
all bats are developed as wings, making them
the only mammals naturally capable of sus-
tained flight (other mammals, such as flying
squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, can
only glide for limited distances). The word
Chiroptera comes from the Greek words
cheir
(χειρ) "hand" and pteron
(πτερον)
"wing," as the structure of the open wing is
very similar to an outspread human hand
with a membrane (patagium) between the
fingers that also stretches between hand and
body.
A measure of the success of bats is their
estimated total of about 1,100 species world-
wide, accounting for about 20 percent of all
mammal species.[2] About 70 percent of bats
are insectivores. Most of the rest are frugi-
vores, with a few species being carnivorous.
Bats are present throughout most of the
world. Bats perform a vital ecological role by
pollinating flowers, and also serve an import-
ant role in seed dispersal. Many tropical
plants are entirely dependent on bats.
Bats range in size from Kitti’s Hog-nosed
Bat measuring 29–33 mm (1.14–1.30 in) in
length and 2 g (0.07 oz) in mass,[3] to the Gi-
ant golden-crowned flying fox which has a
wing span of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and weighs ap-
proximately 1.2 kg (3 lb).
Fossil bats
Since bats are terrestrial and light-boned,
there are few fossilized remains. An Early Eo-
cene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi, was found
in the 52-million-year-old Green River Forma-
tion in South Dakota (US) in 2004. The new
genus was placed in a new family when it
was published in Nature, February 2008.[4] It
was clearly a flier, but the well-articulated
skeleton showed that the cochlea of the inner
ear lacked the developmen