What family does the bat belong to? Order bats (chiroptera)

Chiropterans are the only mammals capable of real, long-term, active flight. Body sizes range from 3 to 40 centimeters, wingspan from 18 to 150 centimeters, weight from 4 to 900 grams. This order includes the smallest mammal of the myrrh fauna - recently discovered in tropical forests Thailand Craseonycteris thonglongyai.

The body of bats is flattened dorsoventrally. Their forelimbs are modified into wings: the forearm, metacarpal (metacarpal) bones and phalanges of the fingers (except for the first, which is free) are excessively elongated; a thin elastic flying membrane is stretched between the shoulder, forearm, fingers, sides of the body and hind limbs. The position of the hind legs is unusual: the hips are turned at right angles to the body and in the same plane with it, the shanks are directed back and to the sides. The ears are relatively large and well developed. Most species have a tragus - a vertically standing skin outgrowth extending from the anterior edge of the auditory opening. The tail in most species is long, completely or partially enclosed in the intercostal membrane; the free edge of this membrane is supported by paired cartilaginous or bone spurs extending from the heel. Along the base of the spur in many species stretches a leathery peculiar blade - an epiblema. An example is given appearance Vechernitsy.

The hair on the body is well developed: the wing membrane and usually the interfemoral membrane are covered with very sparse and fine hairs and therefore appear bare. The color is usually dull, with brown and gray tones predominating.

The skeleton is characterized by well-developed clavicles and the presence of a small keel on the sternum. In most species, an additional articulation develops between the scapula and humerus to strengthen the shoulder joint. The fibula and ulna are greatly reduced.

The sutures of the skull disappear early and are difficult to distinguish in adult animals. In the anterior part of the roof of the nasal region there is a variably developed nasal notch. Most groups of chiropterans are characterized by underdevelopment and sometimes absence of premaxillary bones, as a result of which the hard palate in most groups has a deep anterior palatal notch in front.

The dental system contains all categories of teeth. The middle pair of upper incisors is always missing. The lower incisors are very small. The fangs (especially the upper ones) are large, typical of carnivorous forms. Molars are divided into three natural groups: small premolars (front molars) - praemolares small, single-vertex, conical, each with a single root; their number varies and has great importance in recognizing genera and species. They are separated from the many spongy posterior molars (M and m) by large premolars (in front of non-molars) characteristic of chiropterans - praemolares prominantes, the apices of which almost reach the level of the apex of the canines; each is equipped with two roots. The teeth are of a sharply spongy type. Dairy ones are very different from regular ones. The dental formula looks like this:

I 2-1/3-1, C 1/1, P 3-1/3-2, M 3-1/3-1 = 38 - 20

All species of European fauna feed on insects, which they catch and eat in flight. Due to the nature of food containing hard chitinous formations, the epithelium of the esophagus becomes keratinized. The stomach is simple or double. The intestine is unusually short (only 1.5 - 4 times the length of the body), the cecum is small or absent. Characterized by extreme poverty of intestinal flora. Penile bone is usually present. The shape of the uterus is varied. The surface of the brain is smooth, the olfactory lobes are greatly reduced, the cerebellum is not covered by the hemispheres.

Each species of chiroptera has its own diet, which includes different groups of arthropods in certain portions. There are also different strategies for obtaining food: some catch insects in flight, others collect them from the substrate. Almost all bats' diet is dominated by insects of the orders: Diptera and Lepidoptera. Many bats (water bat, dwarf pipistrelle, wood bat, lesser noctule, northern bat, two-colored bat) hunt over water in concentrations small insects. In large ones: the rufous noctule and the late leatherback, a large share of the diet consists of insects with hard integuments - chafer beetles, dung beetles - aphodia, true dung beetles. The food of the long-whiskered bat, Natterer's bat, water bat, and brown long-eared bat contains many arthropods that do not fly or are active during the day - evidence of a collective foraging strategy. The most commonly eaten by the long-eared bat and the long-eared bat are mosquitoes - long-legged mosquitoes (Tipulidae), and the Natterer's bat - flies (Brachycera). Long-eared bats, Natterer's bats and brown long-eared bats also eat harvest spiders (Opiliones). All bats prefer larger food items; insects less than 3 mm in length are almost completely ignored by them. The diet is dominated by the imaginal stages of insects. Only in long-eared bats and pipistrelle bats do caterpillars of cutworms and moths occur sporadically, and in late moths there are terrestrial gastropods.

Preference for bats has been established certain places habitats, in particular, clearings and ponds, as well as internal and external ecotones of forests. Chiropterans visit least often coniferous forests, low activity was recorded over pastures, shrub heaths and mixed forests. Differences in bat use different types habitats are related to the levels of diversity and abundance of insects in different biotopes. A systematic examination of summer habitats also made it possible to note one feature in the behavior of bats - the close correspondence of flight routes to linear elements of the landscape: paths, green hedges, alleys, canals. Small species (water and pond bats, Natterer's bats, dwarf bats, forest bats, brown long-eared bats) always adhere to linear elements of the landscape and almost never cross open spaces, while larger species (late leather bat, rufous bat) behave more regardless of linear landscape elements.

Bats feed on crepuscular and nocturnal insects that are inaccessible to diurnal reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. In temperate climates, bats act as one of the strongest regulators of the number of nocturnal and crepuscular insects. Under the influence of a highly developed herd instinct, these animals strive to unite with each other and, given favorable conditions, accumulate to the limit that is possible with the usual food supplies of the area. In the case of complete (saturated) colonization, each species occupies a shelter and eats insects according to its specialization. Differing in species composition food, by time and duration, by regions and vertical zones of feeding, bats act throughout the dark half of the day in all areas and in all vertical zones. At the same time, destroying not some insignificant part of nocturnal and twilight insects, but reducing their numbers to the minimum necessary to maintain their population. If there is little food in a given area, bats change their feeding place or even migrate to other places with more food. The role of bats in nature and for humans is very important.

All bats are nocturnal or crepuscular animals.

The leading sense organ is hearing. Orientation in space and detection of prey is carried out thanks to the perception of reflected ultraviolet light. sound signals(echo location). They emit ultrasonic signals regardless of audible sounds and regardless of the act of breathing (both during inhalation and exhalation). The audibility range is very wide - from 12 to 100,000 Hz oscillations per second, signal duration from 0.2 to 100 ms. This indicates an exceptionally high hearing acuity, while most people’s vision is poorly developed, so bats see poorly regardless of the time of day. Experiments were carried out in 1793 by Abbot Lazzare Spallanzani, who collected bats at dawn and brought them to his house and released them there; thin threads were stretched from the ceiling to the floor. As he released each mouse, Spallanzani sealed its eyes with wax. But not a single blind mouse touched the thread. Swiss naturalist Charles Jurin learned about Spallanzani's experiments, and he repeated them. Then Charles Jurin plugged their ears with wax. The result was unexpected: the bats stopped distinguishing between surrounding objects and began to bump into walls, as if they were blind. Sound, as we know, is oscillatory movements, propagating in waves in an elastic medium. The human ear hears only sounds with a frequency ranging from 16 to 20 kilohertz. Higher-frequency acoustic vibrations are already ultrasound, inaudible to us. Using ultrasound, bats “feel” their surroundings, filling the space around them, reduced by darkness, to the closest objects visible to the eye. In the larynx of a bat, the vocal cords are stretched in the form of peculiar strings, which, vibrating, produce sound. The structure of the larynx resembles a whistle. The air exhaled from the lungs rushes through it like a whirlwind, a very “whistle” appears. high frequency. The bat may periodically block the air flow. The pressure of air rushing through the larynx is twice that of a steam boiler. Short-term sound vibrations - ultrasonic pulses - are excited in the bat's larynx. There are from 5 to 60 pulses per second, and for some from 10 to 100 pulses. Each pulse lasts two to five thousandths of a second (for horseshoe bats five to ten hundredths of a second). The brevity of the sound signal is a very important physical factor. Only thanks to it is possible accurate echo location, that is, orientation using ultrasound. By the time interval between the end of the sent signal and the first sounds of the returning echo bat gets an idea of the distance to the object that reflected the sound. That's why the sound pulse is so short. Experiments have shown that before the start, the bat emits only five to ten ultrasonic pulses. In flight, the frequency increases to thirty. As you approach an obstacle, the ultrasonic pulses travel even faster, up to 50 - 60 times per second.

The bat echolocator is a very accurate navigation device; it is able to locate an object with a diameter of only 0.1 millimeters.

At first, it was thought that only small insectivorous bats like bats and bats had natural echo sounders, while large flying foxes and dogs that eat fruit in tropical forests seemed to lack them, but it has been proven that all bats are endowed with echo sounders. While in flight, rosettus click their tongues all the time. The sound breaks out in the corners of the mouth, which are always slightly open in Rosettus.

IN Lately Researchers distinguish mainly three types of natural sonars: whispering, scanning, chirping or frequency modulating.

Whispering bats live in tropical America. Many of them feed on fruits, but also catch insects on plant leaves. Their echo sounding signals are very short and very quiet clicks. Each sound lasts a thousandth of a second and is very weak. Typically their echo sounder operates at frequencies of 150 kilohertz.

Horseshoe bats chant. They are named horseshoe bats for the growths on their muzzle, in the form of leathery horseshoes with a double ring surrounding the nostrils and mouth. The growths are a kind of megaphone, directing sound signals in a narrow beam in the direction where the bat is looking. Horseshoe bats send ultrasounds into space, not through the mouth, but through the nose.

The American brown bat begins its chirping sound with a frequency of about 90 kilohertz, and ends at 45 kilohertz.

Frequency-modulating echo sounder and fishing bats, having broken through the water column, their chirping is reflected from the swim bladder of the fish, and its echo returns to the fisherman.

In countries with temperate climate bats make seasonal flights and migrations, and in suitable shelters they hibernate. The body temperature of a bat outside the active period depends on the temperature environment and can vary from - 7.5º to + 48.5º. Most bats have a developed social instinct and live in colonies. For minor general sizes, life expectancy is long, some individuals live up to 15-20 years.

In temperate latitudes there is only one generation annually, but there are exceptions, for example, bulldog bats have three broods per year. The mating period extends from autumn to spring; sperm after coitus remain in the female genital tract throughout the winter. Ovulation and fertilization occur in the spring. The female gives birth to one or two cubs. But there are also exceptions, such as the hairy-tailed smoothnose, they give birth to up to four cubs, but there are known cases of the birth of five cubs.

Variation and morphism can be characterized as follows. The development of young animals proceeds very quickly. In the third to sixth week of life, young individuals already reach the size of their parents, retaining the difference only in the darker and dull color of the juvenile fur and in the cartilaginous formations at the ends of the long bones (metacarpals, phalanges). After the first (juvenile) molt, which ends at the age of one to two months, the young individual loses its coloring and its difference from the adult individual. Individual variability is negligible, most traits are remarkably stable. Seasonal morphisms are manifested only in the character (height, silkiness) of the fur and in the tone or color of its color. Geographical variability (color and size) is clear in many species. Sexual dimorphism is not expressed at all or is expressed only very weakly. Color polymorphism is not uncommon.

Chiropterans are one of the thriving groups of mammals. The general direction of the detachment's evolution followed the path of mastering airspace, that is, improving flight abilities. Chiropterans probably originate from primitive arboreal insectivores. The ancestors of Chiroptera are usually represented as mammals like the modern woolly wing, which initially had adaptations for gliding flight, on the basis of which, through evolution, their descendants switched to active flight.

The wings of lizards - pterodactyls were stretched, in addition to the shoulder and forearm, on a very long little finger. In chiropterans, the wing membrane is supported by the bones of four very long fingers. The third finger is usually equal to the length of the head, body plus legs. Only the end of the first, that is, thumb, finger is free, protrudes from the front edge of the membrane and is equipped with a sharp claw. Most fruit bats also have a tiny claw of the second finger free. Toes of the hind limbs - with claws and free from membranes, with them, resting during the day or during hibernation, cling to branches or other objects. The muscles that move the wings account for only 7% of the animal’s weight (in birds, on average, 17%). However, on the sternum of chiropterans, a small keel, similar to a bird’s, rises, to which the main of these muscles are attached.

There are approximately 1000 species in the order Chiroptera, which is one half of all mammals. The age of the oldest found fossil representatives of bats, although already highly specialized, is 50 million years.

The distribution of the detachment covers the entire Earth to the polar boundaries of woody vegetation. Only the Far North, Antarctica and some oceanic islands are not inhabited by chiropterans. Bats are most numerous and diverse in tropical and subtropical regions.

The order Chiroptera is divided into two separate suborders:

1. Fruit bats (Megachiroptera) are frugivorous forms from small to relatively large (wingspan up to 1.5 meters) in size, with primitive organizational features. About 150 species of fruit bats are united in one family - Pteropidae.

2. Bats (Microchiroptera) are small animals. The majority are insectivorous, less often frugivorous, predatory and blood-sucking forms with a more specialized organization. The range of the suborder coincides with the range of the entire order. About 800 species of bats are grouped into 16 modern families.

Representatives of only this suborder are found in the European part of the continent. They number 34 species and belong to 3 families:

1. Horseshoe bats. Rhinolophidae.

2. Bulldog bats. Molossidae.

3. Common bats. Vespertilionidae.

Bats are very important in nature and human life. Along with insectivorous birds this is one of the tools capable of regulating the number of insect pests, one of biological methods fight them. With the development of industry, there is a gradual reduction in the areas occupied by forests. Perennial plantings are being cut down, where there are hollows in which bats - dendrophiles - inhabit. The massive use of pesticides in forestry and agriculture leads to a decrease in the food supply, and often the bats themselves die along with the insects that bats feed on.

A high rate of evolution is sometimes cited as a progressive characteristic of a group, often primates, but this position needs categorical clarification.

Teniodonts. Top - skulls: top row (from left to right) - Onychodectes, Wortmania, Ectoganus;
middle row- Psittacotherium, Stylinodon;
bottom - Onychodectes, Stylinodon

On the successive series of Paleocene taeniodont Taeniodonta one can see how from a creature similar to insectivores and opossums - Onychodectes– through a dog-like beast – Wortmania- a strange monster may develop like Psittacotherium, Ectoganus or Stylinodon the size of a bear. Probably, among Paleocene animals, taeniodonts had maximum speed evolution. However, no one considered them as particularly progressive mammals.

Teniodonts can serve as a clear example of how one can quickly specialize and lose the opportunity to become a “true primate.”

Another example of rapid specialization is found in Chiroptera bats. Chiropterans were probably present already in the Upper Cretaceous South America and the Upper Paleocene of France and Germany (Gingerich, 1987; Hand et al. 1994; Hooker, 1996), and unambiguous representatives of the Lower Eocene are hardly distinguishable from modern ones, and are found in dozens of species on all continents, including Australia.

It is remarkable that the teeth of Lower Eocene bats are almost identical to the teeth of primitive placental type Cimolestes and the oldest shrews, so the relationship of all these groups is beyond doubt, which is clearly confirmed by genetic data. Despite the fact that in genetic-cladistic schemes chiropterans fall into the Laurasiatheria Laurasiatheria, and primates into the euarchontoglires Euarchontoglires, the similarity of these two groups has always been obvious to all taxonomists, starting with C. Linnaeus, and was reflected in the creation of the “archon” group Archonta, uniting bats, primates, tupayas and woolly wings. The similarity of the ancestors of the representatives of the “archon” was enhanced by the arboreal lifestyle of the ancestors of bats and woolly wings and, at a minimum, by pre-adaptation to it in the ancestors of primates and tupayas. Obviously, the reason why it is not possible to identify the immediate Lower Paleocene or Cretaceous ancestors of bats is that their teeth are indistinguishable from the teeth of other primitive animals. It is possible that some Paleocene forms, known only from teeth and now considered primates, plesiadapis, or some insectivores in the broad sense, will turn out to be primitive bats with better study. Until bats had wings and echolocation, we consider them "insectivores", when did these specializations appear (judging by Onychonycterisfinneyi, flight arose before echolocation (Simmons et al., 2008)), we already see ready-made chiropterans.

As in the case of birds and pterosaurs, the flapping flight of bats arose very quickly, and it is extremely difficult to catch the moment of its formation, for this you need to have incredible luck.

Chiropterans are unique in the sense that the first stages of their evolution were distinguished by maximum rates, and the subsequent ones by extremely low rates (or rather, at the level of species and genus formation the rates were high, but the structural plan even at the family level has practically not changed since the Lower Eocene); one could even argue that macroevolution in bats ended at the same time that it was just beginning in primates. Obviously, the reason for this was adaptation to flight. The already poor reserves of the brain structure of the first ancestors were hopelessly suppressed by the need to lighten the weight; this is clearly expressed in the rapid overgrowth of the sutures of the skull, which was already characteristic of the early Eocene Icaronycterys. We are also not talking about the grasping ability of the limbs, but rather about the grasping ability; Lower Eocene Onychonycteris had claws on all fingers of the wing, and the rest of the synchronous relatives had already lost two or three.

True, bats have two significant advantages over insectivores: they live a long time, and therefore can accumulate rich life experience, and are very sociable - even taking care of hungry relatives among vampires Desmodus rotundus. But these advantages are negated by the small size of the brain - an expensive price to pay for conquering the heavens. Surprisingly, over tens of millions of years, not a single bat has lost the ability to fly or returned to a terrestrial or arboreal lifestyle (in the fantastic fauna of the future, the inventive mind of D. Dixon dreamed of predatory land vampires, walking on their front legs and grabbing prey with their hind legs, but this infernal image, fortunately, remains purely hypothetical and remains on the conscience of its creator).

At one time, the so-called “flying primate” hypothesis caused a lot of noise, according to which megachiroptera Megachiroptera - fruit bats - acquired the ability to fly independently of other bats - microchiroptera Microchiroptera, and, moreover, arose from the most ancient primates (Pettigrew, 1986; Pettigrew et al ., 1989; Pettigrew et al., 2008). Many arguments were given as proof, the main of which was the specific type of neural connection of the retina with the superior colliculi of the quadrigeminal in the midbrain - unique for primates, woolly winged winged bats and fruit bats, as well as the absence of echolocation in the vast majority of the latter, in contrast to small echolocating bats. Other evidence of the independent emergence of macro- and microchiroptera has been provided.

At a certain point, the concept of “flying primates” almost took over, but immediately suffered a crushing defeat from geneticists, who quite convincingly proved the monophyly of chiropterans (Mindell et al., 1991);

Attempts have been made to challenge these genetic results (Hutcheon et al., 1998), but they are not accepted by most taxonomists. However, the recognition of the common origin of bats cannot reject the many amazing parallels between fruit bats and primates. Even if these similarities evolved convergently, they are too complex to be entirely coincidental; yet this situation is a reflection of the extreme closeness of the ancestors of both orders. There are no fossil forms that would “hang” between bats and primates (the African early Miocene fruit bat is described Propottoleakeyi, whose name speaks for itself (Simpson, 1967; Walker, 1967), but this is a matter of confusion, not intermediateness) - this is a consequence of the rapid specialization of the former.

Much thought has been spent on clarifying the question of whether the ancestors of bats were insectivores or frugivores. The teeth of the oldest known forms are “insectivorous,” but the Paleocene could well have been distinguished by a greater love for the works of flora. The ongoing debate on this issue, as well as the existence of both types of nutrition among modern bats, is further confirmation of the fragility of the line between these two diets, no matter how different they may seem.

In general, the sequence of specializations of chiropterans seems to be something like this: judging by the most primitive bat Onychonycteris, which did not have developed echolocation (although there is another opinion that it could have had “laryngeal echolocation” (Veselka et al., 2010)) and fed on insects; echolocation arose later than flight, and the first diet was insects; other synchronous bats are also insectivores, but echolocating. Judging by the absence of echolocation in most frugivorous fruit bats and its presence in some representatives of the same group (Egyptian flying dog Rousettusaegyptiacus echolocates by clicking the tongue), as well as its preservation in frugivorous and nectarivorous microchiropterans, echolocation could disappear in frugivorous forms, but not necessarily; echolocation and insectivory are found in the horseshoe-labiates Hipposideridae, horseshoe bats Rhinolophidae, pseudo-vampire Megadermatidae, pig-nosed Craseonycteridae and mouse-tailed Rhinopomatidae, which are genetically close to fruit bats; on the other hand, insectivores repeatedly and independently switched to frugivory. On the other hand, all modern insectivorous forms have developed echolocation. Judging by the development of a complicated nerve connection between the retina and the quadrigemina specifically in non-echolocating fruit bats and the primitive variant in all other bats, the “primate” version of the nervous system arose in fruit bats independently. All these subtleties seem extraneous to the problem of the origin of primates, but in fact they are directly related to it.

After all, common ancestors imply that primates also had a chance to develop similar adaptations.

Order Chiroptera, general characteristics.

Chiropterans are the only mammals capable of real, long-term, active flight. Body sizes range from 3 to 40 centimeters, wingspan from 18 to 150 centimeters, weight from 4 to 900 grams. This order includes the smallest mammal of the myrrh fauna - Craseonycteris thonglongyai, recently discovered in the tropical forests of Thailand.

The body of bats is flattened dorsoventrally. Their forelimbs are modified into wings: the forearm, metacarpal (metacarpal) bones and phalanges of the fingers (except for the first, which is free) are excessively elongated; a thin elastic flying membrane is stretched between the shoulder, forearm, fingers, sides of the body and hind limbs. The position of the hind legs is unusual: the hips are turned at right angles to the body and in the same plane with it, the shanks are directed back and to the sides. The ears are relatively large and well developed. Most species have a tragus - a vertically standing skin outgrowth extending from the anterior edge of the auditory opening. The tail in most species is long, completely or partially enclosed in the intercostal membrane; the free edge of this membrane is supported by paired cartilaginous or bone spurs extending from the heel. In many species, along the base of the spur there is a leathery, peculiar blade called an epiblema. An example of Vechernitsa's appearance is given.

The dental system contains all categories of teeth. The middle pair of upper incisors is always missing. The lower incisors are very small. The fangs (especially the upper ones) are large, typical of carnivorous forms. Molars are divided into three natural groups: small premolars (front molars) - praemolares small, single-vertex, conical, each with a single root; their number varies and is of great importance in recognizing genera and species. They are separated from the many spongy posterior molars (M and m) by large premolars (in front of non-molars) characteristic of chiropterans - praemolares prominantes, the apices of which almost reach the level of the apex of the canines; each is equipped with two roots. The teeth are of a sharply spongy type. Dairy ones are very different from regular ones. The dental formula looks like this:

I 2-1/3-1, C 1/1, P 3-1/3-2, M 3-1/3-1 = 38 – 20

Each species of chiroptera has its own diet, which includes different groups of arthropods in certain portions. There are also different strategies for obtaining food: some catch insects in flight, others collect them from the substrate. Almost all bats' diet is dominated by insects of the orders: Diptera and Lepidoptera. Many bats (water bat, dwarf pipistrelle, wood bat, lesser noctule, northern bat, two-colored bat) hunt over water in concentrations of small insects. In large ones: the rufous noctule and the late leatherback, a large proportion of the diet consists of insects with hard integuments - chafer beetles, dung beetles - aphodia, true dung beetles. The food of the long-whiskered bat, Natterer's bat, water bat, and brown long-eared bat contains many arthropods that do not fly or are active during the day - evidence of a collective foraging strategy. The most commonly eaten by the long-eared bat and the long-eared bat are mosquitoes - long-legged mosquitoes (Tipulidae), and the Natterer's bat - flies (Brachycera). Long-eared bats, Natterer's bats and brown long-eared bats also eat harvest spiders (Opiliones). All bats prefer larger food items; insects less than 3 mm in length are almost completely ignored by them. The diet is dominated by the imaginal stages of insects. Only in long-eared bats and pipistrelle bats are caterpillars of cutworms and moths found sporadically, and in late moths there are terrestrial gastropods.

It has been established that bats prefer certain habitats, in particular, clearings and ponds, as well as internal and external ecotones of forests. Chiropterans visit coniferous forests least often; low activity has been recorded over pastures, shrub heaths and mixed forests. Differences in bat use of different habitat types are associated with levels of insect diversity and abundance in different habitats. A systematic examination of summer habitats also made it possible to note one feature in the behavior of bats - the close correspondence of flight routes to linear elements of the landscape: paths, green hedges, alleys, canals. Small species (water and pond bats, Natterer's bats, dwarf bats, forest bats, brown long-eared bats) always adhere to linear elements of the landscape and almost never cross open spaces, while larger species (late moth, rufous bat) behave more regardless of linear landscape elements.

Bats feed on crepuscular and nocturnal insects that are inaccessible to diurnal reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. In temperate climates, bats act as one of the strongest regulators of the number of nocturnal and crepuscular insects. Under the influence of a highly developed herd instinct, these animals strive to unite with each other and, given favorable conditions, accumulate to the limit that is possible with the usual food supplies of the area. In the case of complete (saturated) colonization, each species occupies a shelter and eats insects according to its specialization. Differing in the species composition of food, in time and duration, in areas and vertical zones of feeding, bats act throughout the dark half of the day in all areas and in all vertical zones. At the same time, destroying not some insignificant part of nocturnal and twilight insects, but reducing their numbers to the minimum necessary to maintain their population. If there is little food in a given area, bats change their feeding place or even migrate to other places with more food. The role of bats in nature and for humans is very important.

All bats are nocturnal or crepuscular animals.

The leading sense organ is hearing. Orientation in space and detection of prey is carried out due to the perception of reflected ultrasonic signals (echo location). They emit ultrasonic signals regardless of audible sounds and regardless of the act of breathing (both during inhalation and exhalation). The audibility range is very wide - from 12 to 100,000 Hz oscillations per second, signal duration from 0.2 to 100 ms. This indicates an exceptionally high hearing acuity, while most people’s vision is poorly developed, so bats see poorly regardless of the time of day. Experiments were carried out in 1793 by Abbot Lazzare Spallanzani, who collected bats at dawn and brought them to his house and released them there; thin threads were stretched from the ceiling to the floor. As he released each mouse, Spallanzani sealed its eyes with wax. But not a single blind mouse touched the thread. Swiss naturalist Charles Jurin learned about Spallanzani's experiments, and he repeated them. Then Charles Jurin plugged their ears with wax. The result was unexpected: the bats stopped distinguishing between surrounding objects and began to bump into walls, as if they were blind. Sound, as is known, is oscillatory movements propagating in waves in an elastic medium. The human ear hears only sounds with a frequency ranging from 16 to 20 kilohertz. Higher-frequency acoustic vibrations are already ultrasound, inaudible to us. Using ultrasound, bats “feel” their surroundings, filling the space around them, reduced by darkness, to the closest objects visible to the eye. In the larynx of a bat, the vocal cords are stretched in the form of peculiar strings, which, vibrating, produce sound. The structure of the larynx resembles a whistle. The air exhaled from the lungs rushes through it like a whirlwind, creating a “whistle” of a very high frequency. The bat may periodically block the air flow. The pressure of air rushing through the larynx is twice that of a steam boiler. Short-term sound vibrations - ultrasonic pulses - are excited in the bat's larynx. There are from 5 to 60 pulses per second, and for some from 10 to 100 pulses. Each pulse lasts two to five thousandths of a second (for horseshoe bats five to ten hundredths of a second). The brevity of the sound signal is a very important physical factor. Only thanks to it is accurate echo location possible, that is, orientation using ultrasound. From the time interval between the end of the sent signal and the first sounds of the returning echo, the bat gets an idea of the distance to the object that reflected the sound. That's why the sound pulse is so short. Experiments have shown that before the start, the bat emits only five to ten ultrasonic pulses. In flight, the frequency increases to thirty. As you approach an obstacle, the ultrasonic pulses travel even faster, up to 50–60 times per second.

The bat echolocator is a very accurate navigation device; it is able to locate an object with a diameter of only 0.1 millimeters.

Recently, researchers have identified mainly three types of natural sonars: whispering, scanning, chirping or frequency modulating.

The American brown bat begins its chirping sound with a frequency of about 90 kilohertz, and ends at 45 kilohertz.

A frequency-modulating echo sounder for bat fishermen, having broken through the water column, their chirping is reflected from the swim bladder of the fish, and its echo returns to the fisherman.

In countries with a temperate climate, bats make seasonal flights and migrations, and in suitable shelters they hibernate. The body temperature of a bat outside the active period depends on the ambient temperature and can vary from – 7.5º to + 48.5º. Most bats have a developed social instinct and live in colonies. Despite their small overall size, their life expectancy is long, some individuals live up to 15-20 years.

Variation and morphism can be characterized as follows. The development of young animals proceeds very quickly. In the third to sixth week of life, young individuals already reach the size of their parents, retaining the difference only in the darker and dull color of the juvenile fur and in the cartilaginous formations at the ends of the long bones (metacarpals, phalanges). After the first (juvenile) molt, which ends at the age of one to two months, the young individual loses its coloring difference from the adult individual. Individual variability is negligible, most traits are remarkably stable. Seasonal morphisms are manifested only in the character (height, silkiness) of the fur and in the tone or color of its color. Geographical variability (color and size) is clear in many species. Sexual dimorphism is not expressed at all or is expressed only very weakly. Color polymorphism is not uncommon.

The wings of lizards - pterodactyls were stretched, in addition to the shoulder and forearm, on a very long little finger. In chiropterans, the wing membrane is supported by the bones of four very long fingers. The third finger is usually equal to the length of the head, body plus legs. Only the end of the first, that is, thumb, finger is free, protrudes from the front edge of the membrane and is equipped with a sharp claw. Most fruit bats also have a tiny claw of the second finger free. The toes of the hind limbs have claws and are free from membranes; when resting during the day or in hibernation, they cling to branches or other objects. The muscles that move the wings account for only 7% of the animal’s weight (in birds, on average, 17%). However, on the sternum of chiropterans, a small keel, similar to a bird’s, rises, to which the main of these muscles are attached.

There are approximately 1000 species in the order Chiroptera, which is ¼ of all mammals. The age of the oldest found fossil representatives of bats, although already highly specialized, is 50 million years.

The distribution of the order covers the entire globe to the polar boundaries of woody vegetation. Only the Far North, Antarctica and some oceanic islands are not inhabited by chiropterans. Bats are most numerous and diverse in tropical and subtropical regions.

The order Chiroptera is divided into two separate suborders:

Representatives of only this suborder are found in the European part of the continent. They number 34 species and belong to 3 families:

1. Horseshoe bats. Rhinolophidae.

2. Bulldog bats. Molossidae.

3. Common bats. Vespertilionidae.

Bats are very important in nature and human life. Along with insectivorous birds, this is one of the tools capable of regulating the number of insect pests, one of the biological methods of combating them. With the development of industry, there is a gradual reduction in the areas occupied by forests. Perennial plantings are being cut down, where there are hollows in which dendrophilous bats inhabit. The massive use of pesticides in forestry and agriculture leads to a decrease in the food supply, and often the bats themselves die along with the insects that bats feed on.

Rare bats of the Lipetsk region.

Natterer's bat.

Spreading. There is no current information about its distribution in the region. It was first discovered on the territory of the Central Black Earth Region in the Voronezh Nature Reserve in 1947.

Ecology and biology. Lives in forests. Settles in hollows deciduous trees with slot-like holes located at a low height. Does not form large colonies. Migratory species. Biology has not been studied.

Limiting factors. Cutting down hollow trees, using insecticides.

Protected in the Voronezh Nature Reserve.

Whiskered bat.

Family: Common bats.

Spreading. Unevenly distributed throughout the region. It was noted in the Voronezh Nature Reserve in 1938 as normal look. It is still found there today. There is no modern information about its distribution in the region as a whole. In 1996, one individual was captured in the city of Lipetsk in the book depository of the pedagogical institute, two more were discovered the same year in the attic of a wooden house in the reserve. Galichya Mountain».

Number. Few in number, in some places rare view. No specific data.

Ecology and biology. Not associated with a certain type habitat. Doesn't avoid settlements. It lives in attics, woodpiles, tree hollows, rock crevices, caves and cellars. Females form small colonies. Males live alone. Feeds all night. Migratory and sedentary species.

Bat of Natisius.

Family: Common bats.

Status – a rare species, with low numbers in the region and found in a limited area.

Spreading. Unevenly distributed throughout the region. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was noted in the Yeletsk district of the Oryol province and in the Voronezh reserve as a common species. Found in mixed forests along the Voronezh River valley. Numerous in the Voronezh Nature Reserve.

Number. A small, sometimes rare species. Specific data is available only for the Voronezh Nature Reserve.

Ecology and biology. Inhabits moist mixed forests with a predominance of aspen and oak. Does not avoid populated areas. It lives in attics, woodpiles, tree hollows, rock crevices, caves and cellars. Females form small colonies. Males live alone. It feeds throughout the night and is most active in the evening and early morning hours. Migratory and sedentary species.

Limiting factors. Habitat destruction, use of insecticides, direct extermination.

Necessary security measures. Study of distribution in the region. Habitat conservation, outreach to the population.

Security measures taken. Included in the list of protected animals in the Lipetsk region.

Small vespers.

Family: Common bats.

Status – a species that has a low abundance in the region, and there is currently no sufficient information about it.

Spreading. There is no current information about its distribution in the region. Rarely seen. In 1868, on the territory of the Yeletsky district of the Oryol province as a very rare species. In 1910 it was pointed out that it was common. In the Voronezh Nature Reserve it is noted as a common, but not often found, bat. In other areas of the region, the last meeting dates back to 1974, when a female with two cubs was found in the Gryazinsky Bala region.

Number. There is no data on abundance, but apparently, as for other chiropteran species in the region, there is a downward trend.

Ecology and biology. Lives in deciduous forests. Settles in tree hollows with slit-like openings. Forms both monospecific and polyspecific colonies of up to a dozen or more individuals. The biology of this migratory species has not been sufficiently studied.

Limiting factors. Cutting down hollow trees, using insecticides, direct extermination.

Security measures taken. Included in the list of protected animals in the Lipetsk region.

Giant nocturnal.

Family: Common bats.

Status – a species that has a low abundance in the region, and there is currently no sufficient information about it.

Spreading. There is no current information about its distribution in the region. It is extremely rare. It is observed on the territory of the Voronezh Nature Reserve.

Number. There is no data on numbers.

Ecology and biology. Lives in deciduous forests. It is more often found in colonies of the red noctule; less often it forms its own settlements in tree hollows of up to several dozen individuals. Migratory species. Biology has been little studied due to its secretive lifestyle and small numbers.

Limiting factors. Unknown, but apparently associated with the economic development of forest biotopes and a decrease in the number of large nocturnal insects.

Necessary security measures. Habitat conservation. Explanatory work with the population. Studying biology.

Security measures taken. Included in the Red Book of the RSFSR, in the list of protected animals in the Lipetsk region.

Northern leather jacket.

Family: Common bats.

Status – a species that has a low abundance in the region, and there is currently no sufficient information about it.

Spreading. There is no current information about its distribution in the region.

Number. There is no data on numbers.

Ecology and biology. Lives in forests. It settles in the attics of houses, in rock cracks. Migratory species. Biology has not been studied.

Limiting factors. Habitat destruction, use of insecticides.

Necessary security measures. Study of distribution in the region. Habitat conservation.

Security measures taken. Included in the list of protected animals in the Lipetsk region.

Which, in addition to the seeds of conifers, eat a lot of seeds of cereals and legumes, mice, which, unlike voles, eat relatively little grass. Seed eaters are relatively limited in their ability to obtain food, and the success of their life activity often depends on the yield of seeds of a few plant species. Crop failures of such food lead to mass migrations of animals or their death. So, for example, our squirrel during the years of poor coniferous harvest...

To life in different environments and to various forms behavior. All this undoubtedly expanded the possibility of their adaptive divergence, which led to an amazing diversity of animal forms. Mammalian reproduction, characterized by great diversity, still has common features: internal fertilization, live birth (with rare and incomplete exceptions), feeding newborns with milk, as well as...

Chiroptera is an order of placental mammals of the chordate type, the distinctive feature of which is the ability to fly. This is the only group of mammals adapted for active flight, since the forelimbs of chiropterans were transformed into wings. This large order includes about 1,200 species and ranks second in size (after rodents). Chiropterans are classified into two suborders: bats (17 families) and fruit bats (1 family). Bats are grouped into families according to characteristic features: mouse-tails, pig-noses, spear-noses, slit-faces, smooth-noses, rosettes and others. Species of bats of the order Chiroptera are the common long-eared bat, the Pratt's leaf bat, the great fisher bat, and the tube-nosed fruit bat.

Paleontologists have discovered fossil remains of bats in strata of the early Eocene period. It is believed that in the process of evolution, bats evolved from arboreal insectivores. Animals of these two groups are similar in taxonomy.

Chiropterans are widespread throughout the world, excluding polar zones and open waters. This group of animals is most numerous in the warm climatic zone of the tropics - in Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Most bats lead night look life. At this time, these animals get their food. During the daytime, bats and fruit bats take refuge in caves, attics, and trees. Individuals of some species live alone, but representatives of most species live in flocks with up to tens of thousands of members. Most bats sleep after hunting, hanging their heads down and holding onto support using the claws of their hind limbs. Bat colonies look like dense, cluster-shaped clusters.

The diet of representatives of different bat families is different. So, most of them feed on insects, some can kill and eat small animals - mice, frogs, birds, lizards. Food for many species of bats are fruits, flowers, nectar, etc.

Vampire bats drink only the warm blood of animals. These representatives of bats are found in South and Central America. The incisors of the upper jaw of such an animal have pointed edges, which cut like a razor blade skin animals or humans, and the bat licks the protruding blood. Vampires' saliva contains substances that reduce blood clotting and anesthetic compounds, making their bites almost imperceptible. Vampires can spread pathogens infectious diseases(rabies, etc.).

Characteristics of the order Chiroptera. Animal sizes different types differ significantly. The largest bat is the Kalong flying fox, reaching a length of 40 cm and weighing up to 1 kg. The smallest representative of this order is the pig-nosed bat, about 3 cm long and weighing 1.7 g.

Since bats are active at night, they have the ability to navigate in space through echolocation. Although the organs of vision in all these animals are also well developed. Animals use their vocal cords to emit ultrasounds, which, reflected from objects located in their path, are picked up by the chiropteran’s hearing organs. The flight of bats is very maneuverable, thanks to their keen hearing and echolocation.

The body of the animals is covered with brownish or grayish hair. The fur of most bats is formed by dense axial hairs and a dense underfur, but there are species of bats with bare skin. Animals of the order Chiroptera have an elastic membrane of skin between the four fingers of the forelimbs and the body. They extend from the heels or the top of the tail and serve as a wing. In this regard, the fingers of the forelimb (except for the first with the claw) are significantly elongated. Just like birds, chiropterans have a keel, to which well-developed pectoral muscles are attached, providing wing movements.

In most species of chiroptera, during the breeding season, females give birth to one naked and blind baby, which the mother feeds with milk. In some species, the female can give birth to two or, less often, three or four cubs. Two weeks after birth, the cub reaches the size of an adult, but does not yet know how to fly. The mother feeds the cub, which only at the age of three weeks begins to fly and feed on its own.

The importance of bats in the human economy lies in the fact that they destroy insect pests at night. In the tropics, many plants are pollinated by nectarivorous bats. By eating the fruits of plants, bats participate in the distribution of seeds. In Africa, the meat of some bats is eaten. Some species of bats are harmful. They can harm fruit tree orchards. Vampires attack domestic animals and are carriers of dangerous diseases.

Order Chiroptera- the only group of mammals adapted for active flight. Along their body, from the top of the second toe of the forelimbs to the tail, there is a fold of skin that serves as a wing. The toes of the forelimb (except the first) are significantly elongated.

Like birds, chiropterans develop an outgrowth of the sternum - a keel, and well-developed muscles that ensure the movement of the wings. Their flight is very maneuverable. Chiropterans are nocturnal. Their vision is poorly developed, but their hearing is very subtle. Most species are capable of echolocation.

Echolocation - the ability of animals to emit high-frequency sound signals and perceive sounds reflected from objects located in their path.

Echolocation allows bats to navigate during flight and also to catch prey in the air. For better perception of sound signals, bats have well-developed auricles. Even having lost its sight, the animal, thanks to echolocation, is well oriented in flight. During the day, these animals hide in attics, hollows and caves. In winter, some species hibernate, while others migrate to higher warmer climes before the cold weather begins. There are approximately 1,000 known species, including fruit bats and fruit bats.

Fruit bats distributed in tropical countries of Asia, Africa, and Australia. They feed on plant foods, in particular fruits, which can be harmful to gardening. The ability to echolocation is poorly developed, but vision and smell are well developed. Representative - flying dog, or kalong.

Majority bats capable of echolocation. They feed mainly on insects, but are known predatory species and bloodsuckers (you-feasts). They settle in caves, mines, tree hollows, and attics of houses. Bats live up to 20 years.

Vampires live in South and Central America. The incisors of their upper jaw have a pointed edge, which, acting like a razor, allows animals to cut the skin of animals or humans and lick off the protruding blood. The saliva of vampires contains substances that prevent blood clotting (therefore the wound for a long time bleeds), as well as painkillers, so their bites are insensitive. Vampires cause harm to livestock production, as inflammation may occur at the site of the wound. In addition, they carry pathogens of infectious diseases, such as rabies. Material from the site

Horseshoe bats (have a leathery formation on the muzzle that resembles a horseshoe), evenings, nightlights, bats, longwings They feed exclusively on insects, so they are beneficial. They need protection, as the numbers of many species and their distribution areas are declining.

Features of the order Chiroptera:

capable of active flight and echolocation;
the forelimbs turned into wings;
the keel and pectoral muscles are developed.

What family does the bat belong to? Order bats (chiroptera)

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