Usually, when we think of flying animals the first thing that comes to us head are images of birds.But in the animal kingdom there are many other flying animals, from insects to mammals.It is true that some of these animals do not fly, only plan or have body structures that allow them to jump from great heights without damaging when they arrive to the ground.
Even so, there are flying mammals that really have the ability to fly, not just plan, like bats.In this article of Animals and Pets Online we will show you the curious characteristics of flying mammals.list with photos of the most representative species.
Characteristics of flying mammals
At a glance, the wings of a bird and a bat can look very different.The birds have wings covered with feathers and bats with hair but, nevertheless, observing their structure we will see that they have the same bones : humero, radio, cubito, carpales, metacarpal and phalanges.
In birds, some of the bones corresponding to the wrist and hand have disappeared, in bats not, these have lengthened their metacarpal bones and phalanges incredibly , widening the end of the wing, with the exception of the thumb, which maintains its small size and serves bats to walk, climb or grab.
In order to fly, these mammals have had to reduce their body weight from the same way that the birds did, decreasing the density of their bones, making them more porous and less heavy for the flight.Their hind legs have been reduced and, being fragile bones, they do not support the weight of the erect animal, therefore, bats rest head down o.
Apart from bats, other examples of flying mammals are flying squirrels or flying lemurs.These animals, instead of wings, have developed another flight strategy or, rather, glide The skin located between its anterior and posterior legs and, which is between its posterior legs and tail, have suffered an overgrowth, creating a kind of parachute that allows them to plan.
Below we show you some species of this curious group of mammals.
Brown mousetrap bat (Myotis emarginatus)
This bat is of size medium-small , has large ears, as well as its snout.Its fur is reddish-blond in the back and lighter in the belly.They weigh between 5.5 and 11.5 grams.
They are native to Europe, southwest Asia and northwestern Africa.They prefer wooded and dense habitats, where the aranas proliferate, their main source of food.They nest in cavernous areas, are nocturnal and leave their shelters shortly before sunset, returning before dawn.
Medium Noctum (Nyctalus noctula)
The medium-sized nocturnals are large-sized bats, reaching 40 grams in weight.They have relatively short ears in proportion to the body.They have golden-brown hair, often reddish.The areas of the body that do not they have hair, like the wings, ears and snout are very dark, almost black.
They are distributed throughout the Eurasian continent, from the Iberian Peninsula to Japan, in addition to northern Africa.It is also a bat of areas wooded, nests in hollows of trees, although they can also be found in cracks of human buildings.
It is one of the first bats to fly, before nightfall, so they can be seen flying with birds like Swifts or swallows.They are partially migratory, at the end of the summer a large part of the population moves south.
Image: Anna Nele Herdina
Southern Hydrangea Bat (Eptesicus isabellinus)
The horticultural bat is of size medium-large .Its hair is yellowish.It has triangular and short ears of dark color, like the rest of the body that is not covered by hair.Females are somewhat older than males, reaching 24 grams of weight.
Their populations are distributed from the northwest of Africa to the south of the Iberian Peninsula.They feed on insects and live in rock crevices, rarely on trees.
Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)
Flying squirrels have gray-brown hair, except for their belly that is white, their tail is flattened and they have large, well-developed eyes, since they are nocturnal animals.Weigh more than 120 grams.
They are distributed from Alaska to northern Canada.They live in coniferous forests, where there are many nut-producing trees.Their diet is varied, they can eat acorns, nuts, other seeds, small fruits, flowers, mushrooms, insects and even small birds.They nest in the tree holes and usually have two litters a year.
Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans)
These squirrels are very similar to the northern flying squirrel, but their fur is clearer.They also have a flat tail and big eyes, like the nortenas.They live in wooded areas from southern Canada to Texas.Their diet is similar to that of their northern cousins.They need trees to take refuge in their cracks and nest.
Philippine flying lemur (Cynocephalus volans)
The flying lemur is a species of mammal that lives in Malaysia.They are dark mottled gray, with a lighter belly.Like flying squirrels, they have an excess of skin between their legs and tail that It allows to plan.Its tail is almost as long as the body.They can weigh about 2 kilograms.It feeds almost exclusively on leaves, flowers and fruits.
When the females of the flying lemur have young, they load with them in the womb, until they can fend for themselves.With them on top, they also jump and "fly".They inhabit wooded areas, being located in the highest part of the trees.It is a species vulnerable to extinction according to the IUCN, because to the destruction of their habitat.
If you want to read more articles similar to Flying mammals-Examples, characteristics and images , we recommend that you enter our The section of Curiosities of the animal world.
Bibliography
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- Gonzalez, JC, Custodio, C., Carino, P.&Pamaong-Jose, R.2008.Cynocephalus volans.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T6081A12410826.
- Heithaus, D.(2013).Creature Feature: Flying Squirrels.BFEC Newsletter, 17 (4).
- Horvath, A.(2012).Murcielagos.The allies of the night.1st Edition, The College of the Southern Border (ECOSUR).
- Lison, F.(2017).Southern horticultural murcielago-Eptesicus isabellinus.In: Virtual Encyclopedia of the Spanish Vertebrates.Salvador, A., Barja, I.(Eds).National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid.http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/
- Quetglas, J.(2015).Murcielago Ratonero Pardo-Myotis emarginatus.In: Virtual Encyclopedia of l os Vertebrados Espanoles.Salvador, A., Barja, I.(Eds.).National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid.http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/
- Thorington Jr, RW,&Heaney, LR (1981).Body proportions and gliding adaptations of flying squirrels (Petauristinae).Journal of Mammalogy, 62 (1), 101-114.
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