Brandt’s bat (Myotis brandtii) typically weighs 4 to 8 grams – about half the weight of a house mouse. At that weight, a well-established link between body mass and lifespan dictates that it should live no more than five years. Yet in 2005, biologists captured a Brandt’s bat in Siberia 41 years after it had first been caught. A new study may have identified the genes behind its longevity. Image: Gilles San Martin
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Bat calls can reach up to a deafening 140 dB – that’s 20 dB louder than a rock concert and...
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Two years after the mysterious “colony collapse disorder” decimated the bee...
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The earliest fossil bat yet found suggests that the species’ trademark echolocation had yet to evolve. The species, Onychonycteris finneyi, had a strong ribcage and long finger bones, suggesting that it could fly, and its teeth were similar to those of modern insect-eating bats. But it lacked the special ear-bone modifications needed for echolocation. Image: Nature
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