The classification of bats

Bats are the only mammals that can fly using wings. Bats are mammals that can fly from the order Chiroptera with both front legs are developed into wings. Actively foraging bats and fly only at night because bats are very sensitive to dehydration (water shortage). During the day he sleeps with hanging upside down. Habitat (where he lives) is usually in caves, outdoor, or dipepohonan. Very little is known about bat evolution, because the fossils 55 million years ago was already like a bat that exist at present. The first known bat named Icaronycteris, living in North America and has a wingspan over 37 cm. Short and broad wings.

Besides having good eyesight, bats rely more on a loud voice to lead him to fly. He wheezes called "Ultrasonic" is not humans can hear. These sound vibrations have frequencies between 25000-50000 Hz. If you hit an object or objects, sound vibrations that bounce back, then caught his ears wide that serves as a radar for him. This process only takes a split second, enough for bats to find out what's in front of him, where they lead and how fast. His nose is oddly shaped such as leg of the horse, trident with a bulge, making it able to remove ultrabunyi.

Bats have a lot of species, ranks second after the rodent mammal. Of the 4,000 species of mammals, 1,000 of them are species of bats. To classify them, bats are divided into two main groups named "Megachiroptera" and "Microchiroptera". Moreover, it can be grouped according to food and its capacity. Bat with a wingspan of 2 meters and weigh up to 1.5 Kg Megachiroptera or included in the group known as "Bats". The characteristics of bats are big eyes, because they do not have a system of echolocation. Finding food in the form of fruits and flowers by relying on sight and smell. Bats living in areas of Asia and Africa was small, eat pollen, two wings 30 cm wide with a weight of 15 gr. These bats Microchiroptera included in the group with a better system of echolocation, but his eyesight is less clear.

Here is the classification of bats:
1. Pteropodidae (fruit bats)
2. Emballonuridae (bat tail-Poster)
3. Megadermatidae (false vampire)
4. Nycteridae (Bat face-concave)
5. Rhinolophidae (-horseshoe bats)
6. Hipposideridae (Barong)
7. Vespertilionidae (Bats usual)
8. Molossidae (bat-lip wrinkles)

The real difference between the bat's wings with the wings of birds are on the expansion of the fleshy body and wings are not feathered membrane made of elastic but muscular. Wings are often called "Patagium", extending from the body to toe front, rear legs and tail. In the female bats Patagium serves to hold her new born with the head down position. In addition to flying, bat wings serve to wrap his body while hanging upside down. There are two kinds of bats have wings. The first is a small wing, usually owned by the bats that live in the open that allows you to fly quickly without any obstacles in front of him. Wide wings of bats that live owned the place closed, which flew quietly among the tree branches.

Fruit bats, like other bats, have very long, webbed fingers that serve as wings. Fruit bats also have very good senses of smell and sight (contrary to the myth that all bats are blind).

Fruit bats tend to live in large colonies, or "camps." Within these camps, one male fruit bats usually lives with up to eight female bats.

Fruit bats are nocturnal, and hang from their feet during the day. They may hang with their wings wrapped around their bodies, or, if it is hot, may use their wings to fan themselves. Although fruit bats are good at flying, landing is another story! Fruit bats can't land gracefully, and instead must crash into bushes or trees to come to a stop, or try to latch onto a branch as they pass by. Sometimes these crash-landings disturb other fruit bats at the site, and cause noisy fights amongst them.

Fruit bats, as their name hints, consume fruit and flowers. These bats usually suck on the flowers and fruit, then swallow the nectar or juice and spit out the remaining pulp. Habitat: Dense forest areas. Predators: Humans sometimes eat bats.

The 51 species of sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats constitute the family Emballonuridae, and can be found in tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. Emballonurids include some of the smallest of all bats, and range from 3.5 to 10 cm in body length. They are generally brown or grey, although the ghost bats (genus Diclidurus) are white.

They have short tails, which project through the tail membrane so that the latter forms a sheath. As their name indicates, most species also possess sac-shaped glands in their wings, which are open to the air and may release pheromones to attract mates. Other species have throat glands which produce strong-smelling secretions.

Megadermatidae, or False Vampire Bats, are a family of bats found from central Africa, eastwards through southern Asia, and into Australia. They are relatively large bats, ranging from 6.5 cm to 14 cm in head-body length. They have large eyes, very large ears and a prominent nose-leaf. They have a wide membrane between the hind legs, or uropatagium, but no tail. Many species are a drab brown in color, but some are white, bluish-grey or even olive-green, helping to camouflage them against their preferred roosting environments. They are primarily insectivorous, but will also eat a wide range of small vertebrates.

Nycteridae is the family of slit-faced or hollow-faced bats. They are grouped in a single genus, Nycteris. The bats are found in East Malaysia, Indonesia and many parts of Africa.

They are small bats, from 4 to 8 cm in body length, and with grey, brown, or reddish fur. A long slit runs down the centre of their faces from between the eyes to the nostrils, and probably assists in echolocation. They have large ears, and a complex nose-leaf. Their tail ends in a T-shape, formed from cartilage, a feature that is unique among mammals.

Rhinolophidae is a family of carnivorous and insectivorous bats known from the Old World. The family is divided into two clades, Rhinolophinae and Hipposiderinae. Rhinolophinae currently includes 1 genus and over 60 species (Koopman, 1993). Hipposiderinae is a somewhat more diverse group that includes 9 genera and over 70 extant species.

All rhinolophids share the following characteristics:
Presence of a well-developed noseleaf.
Absence of a tragus.
Modifications of the hyoid apperatus, including m. stylohyoideus with a slip that passes deep to digastic muscles, reduction of the ceratohyal to half the length of epihyal, and a large, flat expansion or "foot" on lateral cranial tip of the stylohyal.
Modifications of the ribcage, including fusion of at least the first five anterior ribs to the vertebrae, fusion of the second rib to the sternum, costal cartilages absent or ossified, and ribs that lack anterior laminae.
Absence of m. omocervicalis absent.
Dorsomedial edge of the ascending process of the ilium upturned, flares dorsally above the level of iliosacral articulation, iliac fossa large and well-defined.
Articulation between pubes in male restricted to small area, consists of an ossified interpubic ligament or short symphysis.
Obtuator foramen patially infilled with thin, bony sheet along posteroventral rim.
Gall bladder located in umbilical fissue of liver.

Hipposideridae is a family of bats. While it has often been seen as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae, of the family Rhinolophidae, it is now more generally classified as its own family. Nevertheless, it is most closely related to Rhinolophidae within the suborder Pteropodiformes (or Yinpterochiroptera).


Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae), also known as Evening bats or Common bats, are the largest and best-known family of bats. They belong to the suborder Microchiroptera (microbats). There are over three hundred species distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica. It owes its name to the Latin word vespertilio ("bat"), from vesper, meaning "evening."

Molossidae, or free-tailed bats, are a family of bats within the order Chiroptera. They are generally quite robust, and consist of many strong flying forms with relatively long and narrow wings. Another common name for some members of this group, and indeed a few species from other families, is Mastiff Bat. The Western mastiff bat, Eumops perotis, a large species from the southwestern United States and Mexico with wings over 0.5 m (1.6 ft) across, is perhaps one of the best known with this name. They are widespread, being found on every continent except Antarctica.