Why does a flying fish fly? Flying fish
A bat is a mammal that belongs to the placental mammals, a species of chiroptera, and is rightfully considered the most mysterious animal. On the one hand, the bat is the only mammal that can move through the air; Based on this ability, they claimed that it was a bird. But, on the other hand, they are viviparous; they feed their young with milk, which birds do not do.
The nocturnal lifestyle of these animals and their frightening appearance have created many legends around them, and some are absolutely convinced that the small animals sleeping in secluded places upside down are real vampires who hunt people and animals to drink their blood. Not everything in these legends is fiction.
The name “bat” itself appeared in Russian only at the beginning of the 17th century, thanks to the translation of a German book. This literary variant caught on, and this is how the animals of the order Chiroptera began to be called.
In Russia, other names were also found: pipistrelle, kozhan, noctule, nocturnal bat, horseshoe bat, long eared bat, arrow-eared bat, tubebill and others. All reflect the external characteristics of these mammals or the features of their way of life.
The same thing is observed in the modern name. Animals that have no family connection with the order of rodents closely resemble them in appearance. And the sound of a bat is similar to the squeak of rodents, and the ability to fly adds a definition that has become the name of the order Chiroptera.
What do bats look like?
It is believed that every fourth mammal on earth belongs to the order Chiroptera. Despite the species differences, they all have common external features.
Wings
The main distinguishing feature of these animals is their wings. It was precisely because of its presence that the debate continued for a long time: a bat is still a bird or an animal.
The wings are thin membranes that are stretched between the fore and hind limbs. Unlike birds, bats do not have feathers, and membranes are attached to the very long fingers of the forelimbs.
The wingspan, depending on the type, can vary from 16 cm to 1.5 m. Despite their apparent fragility, they are able to withstand significant loads and reach flight speeds of up to 20 km/h.
Flight is not the only purpose of wings. During sleep, bats wrap themselves in them, and thus retain their warmth.
Bat skeleton
The animals' body is relatively small: the spine is much shorter than the modified forelimbs with five fingers with sharp claws. The animal does not have strong limbs, the humerus are shortened, so its movement on the ground is minimal, the main thing for them is flight.
The skull is round in shape with a shortened anterior part in some species and an elongated one in others. If you look at bats, the body is practically invisible. They appear to consist of a head and wings.
Animals have a tail that is not covered with hair. For most, it serves as a device for maneuvers during flight.
Ears
Ears play an important role in the life of an animal that does not have acute vision. In almost all species they are of enormous size.
Numerous networks of blood vessels nourish the ears, since their participation in the life of bats provides them with the ability to move and hunt.
Animals make subtle sounds that bounce off objects and return. This method of orientation in the world is called echolocation. The ability to quickly catch even the quietest sounds helps bats fly at night and hear the movement of potential prey.
Disturbances in the functioning of the hearing organs most often lead to the death of the animal.
Eyes
Chiropterans are nocturnal, which in the process of evolution also affected their vision. In almost all species, small eyes are located in the front part of the muzzle.
The animals of this detachment see everything in black and white. Since the bat sleeps in shelters during the day, its eyes react very poorly to sunlight.
But these animals also have their exceptions. Thus, the California leaf-nosed bat sometimes relies more on sight than hearing when hunting.
If a bat lives as a pet, then you have noticed that it rarely flies into a room in which the light is on, and to catch it, it is enough to turn on the light bulb, and the animal immediately stops flying.
Teeth
Absolutely all chiropterans have teeth: in the jaw you can see incisors, molars and premolars, and fangs. But their number, size and structure depend solely on what bats eat in their natural environment.
Those bats whose diet consists of insects have up to 38 teeth, and the length of their fangs can also vary. Blood-sucking mice typically have a jaw of 20 teeth, and they are not as large or developed as those of their insectivorous counterparts.
The shape of the teeth is adapted to what bats eat in the wild. So, in insectivorous animals, the teeth resemble mortars that grind rough food. But only those who feed on blood have long fangs.
Wool
Most species of bats have a dull color: brown, gray, dark gray. This is due to the need to remain unnoticed during night hunting. But even among these animals there are real fashionistas: the species of Mexican piscivores has bright orange or yellow fur. There are bats in shades that include light tones: fawn, light yellow.
The Honduran white bat boasts a white coat and bright yellow ears and nose.
The quality of the coating may also vary. There are animals with thick and sparse fur, long and short hair.
Types of bats (insectivores and herbivores)
Studying the life of bats is complicated by their secrecy, but scientists have been able to establish that currently about 700 species of these animals have been recorded. We will tell you about some of them in more detail.
The habitat of representatives of this species is almost all countries of Eurasia. You can also find it on the territory of Russia, from Southern Siberia to the western borders. They live in mountains, forests, and steppes. Some animals of this species easily inhabit even the attics of houses in large cities.
The body length of these bats is up to 6.5 cm, and the wingspan is 33 cm. Moreover, they weigh up to 23 grams. These dimensions allow us to say that the two-color leather is a fairly large bat.
The original coloring of the animal determined its name: the ears, muzzle and wings are almost black, the back is dark brown, and the belly is light gray or white.
Two-color leatherbacks feed on nocturnal insects.
These bats live in the European part. The giant noctule is the largest bat living in Russia. Its body length reaches 11 cm, weight – 70-80 grams, and wingspan – 45-50 cm.
The animal does not have a bright color: they are usually brown or reddish-brown, the belly is noticeably lighter than the back. But it is quite difficult not to notice the flight of these creatures, since their size is impressive.
Observing the life of the noctule bat, it was established that these bats eat large insects. In Russia they prefer beetles and butterflies.
They most often settle in hollow trees. Since low temperatures are possible in their habitats, animals migrate during the cold season, choosing warmer regions.
The white bat got its name for its original appearance: their fur is white with slight gray patches on the abdomen. But the nose and ears of representatives of this species are bright yellow, and their shape resembles leaves. It seems that the animal has stuck autumn leaves on itself.
This is one of the small representatives of bats: the body size is no more than 4-5 cm, and the weight is only 7 grams. It is so small that sometimes it seems like it is a bird.
This white miracle lives in South and Central America, Honduras, and Panama. To live, they choose evergreen forests, where they always find food - ficuses and fruits.
The original appearance of the animal attracts attention, so the bat at home is becoming more and more common.
Representatives of this species are rightfully considered the smallest: their weight does not exceed 2 grams, their body length is 3-5 cm. Sometimes they are confused with bumblebees.
They got their name from their original nose, reminiscent of a pig's snout. The usual color is dark brown, sometimes grayish-brown. The fur on the belly is a lighter shade.
The pig-nosed bat lives in the southwest of Thailand and on some nearby islands. They are not common in other places, so they are rightfully considered endemic to the area.
A special feature of these animals is their cooperative hunting: they usually gather in small flocks and fly out together in search of small insects.
Small bats are difficult to see with the naked eye, making their lives very difficult to observe.
The limited habitat has made the population of these animals extremely small. Currently this species is listed in the Red Book.
These animals live in the territory from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, as well as the Bahamas and Antilles.
The great harelip is a large bat: its weight sometimes reaches 80 grams, its body size is up to 13.5 cm.
The animals have an interesting coloring feature: males are bright red, sometimes even fiery red, but females are very faded, grayish-brown.
These bats received their second name - fish-eating bat - due to their feeding habits. Animals prefer to live near bodies of water. Scientists have found that the harelip eats not only insects, like many chiropterans, but also small fish, small crayfish and frogs.
By the way, they can also fly out to hunt, unlike many representatives of their squad, during the day.
The life of representatives of this species was described in detail by the French scientist Daubanton. It was in honor of him that these animals received their second name - Dobanton's bats.
Relatively small animals (weight up to 15 grams, wingspan - no more than 27 cm, and body length - 5.5 cm) prefer to hunt near bodies of water, preferring mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects as food.
Small-sized bats have a fairly wide habitat: in Russia they can be found in the lower reaches of the Volga, in the Ussuri Territory, on Sakhalin, Kamchatka, in the Primorsky Territory; They also live in other countries: Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Mongolia, Italy.
Unprepossessing in appearance (usually their fur is dark brown), they are excellent hunters, destroying entire hordes of insects.
The decline in the population of water bats contributes to the spread of livestock diseases transmitted through insect bites.
The most noticeable part of these bats is their huge ears. With a weight of no more than 12 grams and a body size of 5 cm, the ears are sometimes larger than the body. But they cannot boast of original coloring: their gray-brown fur is very inconspicuous.
Long-eared bats are found in almost all countries of Eurasia, northern Africa, and China.
They adapt almost any place for their homes: caves, buildings, trees. Most often they fly away to warmer regions for the winter, but they always return to their old homes.
Huge ears allow her to hunt even in complete darkness.
It is rightfully considered the smallest representative of the order of bats living in Europe. Its body is up to 4 cm long and weighs 6 g. Representatives of this species have a fairly long tail - up to 3.5 cm.
The color of the animal depends on the region where it lives: in animals living in Asia, it is pale, grayish; in Europeans it is brown.
Bats settle near human habitation, often choosing the attics of houses and barns.
Representatives of this species prefer small insects as food, which helps a lot by exterminating thousands of mosquitoes and midges.
Types of bats (blood-sucking)
Observing representatives of the order Chiroptera, we found out that in the wild the bat eats not only insects and plants. Among these animals there are also those that feed on blood.
A very numerous species has spread the opinion of bats as vampires, capable of drinking all the blood from an animal or a person. Another name is big bloodsucker. The enzyme contained in the saliva of these animals can be quite dangerous: it affects blood clotting. Even a minor wound can cause major blood loss. And if several dozen bloodsuckers attack during the night, then death is inevitable.
This not very large bat (weight no more than 50 grams, and a wingspan of up to 20 cm) spends the entire day sleeping upside down in its shelter in the large company of its fellows, and at nightfall it flies out to hunt. She chooses her prey among sleeping animals, especially prefers cattle - they cannot resist. Choosing a place on the body near the blood vessels, the animal bites and licks the blood, which easily flows out of the wound.
A person can also be attacked by ordinary vampires if he spends the night in places accessible to these bats.
The habitat of this species is South and Central America.
A representative of this species has average dimensions for chiropterans: body length is up to 11 cm, weight is up to 40 grams, and the wingspan is up to 40 cm.
Like the common vampire, the white-winged one lives in South and Central America. Its fur has a reddish-brown tint, somewhat lighter on the belly.
The white-winged vampire attacks birds; it is their blood that is the animal’s diet.
It lives in the same places as its brothers that feed on blood. But representatives of this species can easily attack both birds and animals.
Unlike other bats, the bushy-footed vampire does not have well-developed hearing, so in its flights it relies not so much on the usual echolocation as on vision.
Their grayish-brown color and small size allow them to approach their victims unnoticed.
Many researchers have noted that hairy-legged vampires are absolutely not afraid of people: they can fly very close, practically sitting on their hands.
Bats are often frightened by being called blood-sucking and dangerous, but out of all the variety of species, only three actually drink blood.
Where do bats live?
If we talk about the territories where bats live, then we need to list the entire planet. The only exceptions are areas of tundra and land covered with ice. In these natural conditions, the life of bats is impossible. These animals are not found on some remote islands because they simply could not get there.
The bat is a rare mammal that can exist in almost any place where there is at least some opportunity for shelter during the day.
Representatives of this order can be found in all other corners of the globe. Even in large cities, in the attics of high-rise buildings, bats find shelter.
In nature, bats prefer to settle in caves, where, clinging to ledges, they sleep during the daytime, and at dusk they fly out to hunt. There are caves in which thousands of bat colonies live. Sometimes the height of the layer of excrement in them reaches a meter, which indicates the number of animals and the duration of their stay in this place.
Where there is no natural shelter, these animals are located in trees, hiding between the branches. Sometimes they occupy abandoned hollows, can build themselves shelters from large leaves, gnaw through bamboo trunks, and even settle between the fruits of plants. The main requirements for their house, where the bat sleeps all day, are safety and absence of direct sunlight.
These animals are not at all afraid of people, so they calmly settle in the attics of houses, barns, and livestock buildings.
Sometimes people, not knowing what bats eat in the wild, believe that they can be dangerous to humans and domestic animals. Therefore, when they find these animals in their attic or barn, they try to exterminate them. Most bats eat insects and are therefore absolutely safe.
Bats most often live in colonies, which can number several tens of thousands of individuals. Some species huddle in groups during the day, while others prefer to hang upside down in splendid isolation.
A record number of individuals in one colony was counted in Brazil. In one place there was a refuge for 20 million individuals.
Living together does not make these animals gregarious, since they do not carry out any joint actions: they hunt exclusively alone.
Bats do not create families. Uniting only at the moment of mating, they immediately forget about each other.
In regions where there are cold seasons, animals can hibernate, which lasts up to 8 months. At this time, the bats wrap themselves in their wings, attach themselves upside down in some secluded place and sleep without feeding.
Some species are capable of seasonal migrations. With the onset of cold weather, they fly to warmer regions. Sometimes during this period bats travel distances of up to 1000 kilometers.
If natural conditions allow, animals remain active all year round.
How long do bats live?
An interesting question remains: how many years do bats live in nature? Average life expectancy is 5 years. How long bats live depends on the species. Among these animals there are also long-livers, whose age can reach up to 20 years.
The longest-living record holder among bats is 33 years old.
A bat at home usually lives less than the time allotted to it by nature, since it does not have the opportunity to be fully active.
How do bats reproduce?
The reproduction of bats has its own characteristics. Some species living in warm climates give birth to young twice a year. The mating period does not matter to them. The secretive way of life of bats does not allow us to accurately imagine how the process of courtship between a male and a female takes place.
Males of some species make a variety of sounds before mating. Perhaps they use this song to attract the female or tell her about their intentions.
Those animals that live in temperate latitudes give birth only once. Usually mating occurs in the fall, until the moment when the animals go into hibernation. But the sperm that enter the female’s body do not immediately fertilize the egg, but may remain in some kind of reserve until the moment of awakening.
After hibernation, pregnancy begins, the duration of which depends on both the species and the ambient temperature: at low temperatures, the baby takes longer to develop.
Usually females give birth to one cub, less often two or three. During birth, the mouse turns head up. The baby is born feet first, which is extremely rare in mammals, and immediately goes into the tail pouch, where it spends a week. Afterwards, they hide the babies in shelters and feed them milk. It was this ability of bats that decided the debate: is a bat a mammal or not, in favor of classifying them as mammals.
In the first week, the female takes her cub with her on night hunts. He holds tightly to his mother during the flight. But after a while she is forced to leave him in the shelter, because the baby becomes heavy, and she cannot fly with him for a long time.
A unique sense of smell allows these animals to find their young after flying at night. They can smell the baby's scent from several kilometers away.
For a week, and sometimes two, the kids remain completely helpless, and only after a month they begin to hunt independently near their shelter, without moving far from it.
What does a bat eat and how does it hunt in the wild?
Almost all bats fly out to hunt at dusk or after sunset. The thing is that their vision is much less developed than their hearing. Most bats feed on flying insects. They hear their movements and pick up prey on the fly or find it among the foliage.
There are animals that feast exclusively on the nectar of flowers and the fruits of fruit trees.
Some large species also eat earthworms and large insects.
Among the chiropterans there is a bat, whose diet includes frogs and small fish, in addition to insects. The animals fly above the surface of the water and determine by the splash where potential prey is located.
But there are only three species of bloodsuckers, and they live in South and Central America. They fly out to hunt at night, find animals, bite and lick the blood.
Enemies of bats
Bats do not have many enemies in nature, although the animals are very small in size. This is most likely due to the fact that their nocturnal lifestyle does not give them the opportunity to intersect in nature with many animals that are active during the day. They camouflage their shelters well or live in large colonies, which can be quite scary for many animals and birds to penetrate.
Those bats that fly out to hunt at twilight (for example, noctule bats) more often become prey for daytime birds of prey (hawks, hobbies, peregrine falcons), which happily feed on these bats.
But nocturnal birds of prey (owls and owls) quite often attack bats, although hunting them is very difficult: developed echolocation allows you to notice danger and dodge deadly claws and beaks.
Scientists from one of the American institutes noticed an interesting fact: bats living in the caves of one of the mountain ranges of Hungary are attacked by common tits. Brave birds fly into the caves, grab the sleeping animal and take it to their nest. Birds rarely fly up to colonies, since the number of bats can pose a mortal danger to them.
In those latitudes where many tree snakes live, the bats hiding in the branches have a hard time. During the day, animals, as a rule, sleep in shelters and are not always able to react to an approaching creeping enemy. And they practically cannot fly in sunlight, so they become victims of those snakes who can eat small bats.
Chiropterans, especially small individuals and species, often fall into the clutches of spiders. They cannot see a stretched web in the dark; in this case, echolocation does not always help. But chiropterans can hear an insect beating in a web. Sometimes large spiders that feed on small animals do not specifically kill insect prey in order to catch a larger one - a bat.
Sometimes bats become food for larger predators - weasels, polecats and martens, which sneak up on sleeping animals and kill them.
But the most important enemy is man. Sometimes people destroy entire colonies of bats just because they mistakenly consider them dangerous. Although the animals bring a lot of benefits, destroying insects that carry the infection.
It happens that a person does not intend to kill bats. Some fertilizers or pesticides are harmful to flying animals.
It seems incredible that people also eat bats. In many Asian countries, the meat of these animals is considered a delicacy.
What benefits do bats bring?
In nature, bats do more good than harm. There are only a few blood-sucking species, so it is impossible to say that it is chiropterans that transmit diseases.
But they destroy insects that, flying from one animal to another, are capable of spreading infections. During the season, animals eat a huge number of mosquitoes, beetles and butterflies, many of which, for example, in tropical countries, actually carry fatal diseases.
They protect chiropteran gardens and agricultural lands from pests that can destroy crops or harm trees and shrubs.
By flying from plant to plant, they help pollinate them.
Bat droppings are an excellent fertilizer. In some caves where animal colonies live, up to a meter of excrement can accumulate.
Enzymes from bat saliva are used in medicine.
Recently, people are increasingly keeping not only dogs and cats as pets, but also some exotic animals, including bats. At home, these animals take root, but do not feel as comfortable as in natural conditions. If you still want to keep a bat at home, then try to provide it with a life as close to nature as possible.
First of all, keep in mind that bats are exclusively nocturnal. If you plan to watch it during the day, then you will have to admire the sleeping animal. But at night your pet will want to fly, which can cause a lot of inconvenience.
Pet house
Despite its small size, a bat at home needs a very spacious enclosure where the pet will be able to fly. It is necessary to equip the house with branches and shelters so that the animal has the opportunity to hide during the daytime rest.
The vital functions of chiropterans directly depend on the ambient temperature, so the room where the pet lives should be approximately 30 degrees, which is quite high for a comfortable stay for a person.
A bird cage is not always suitable for keeping bats, since the distance between the twigs is sufficient so that one fine night you can find that the animal is flying above your heads and happily feasting on insects.
In the natural environment, most chiropterans prefer insects, which they perfectly obtain for themselves while flying at night. By the way, they should be fed at home in the evening, once a day.
A bat at home does not have the opportunity to feed itself, so the pet’s diet should be as close to natural as possible. But this does not mean at all that owners of unusual pets should catch mosquitoes all evening and bring them to their pet in a jar. What should you feed a small bat if it lives at home?
The following diet is suitable for chiropterans:
- mealworms;
- insect pupae;
- adult beetles;
- raw egg yolk;
- natural honey;
- milk formulas for feeding children up to one month.
Feeding your pet is not so easy: you can add raw yolk, a little honey and vitamin E to the milk mixtures. You need to pick up the animal and offer it the mixture through a pipette. It is not recommended to store the remaining mixture in the refrigerator.
Insects suitable for food are usually stored in jars, but for a short time. A tame bat will happily accept food, but teaching it to eat from your hands is not very easy. It is possible that at first she will refuse food.
Knowing what voracious bats actually eat at home, remember that animals can eat up to half their weight at a time, which can be dangerous to their health with little activity. Don't overfeed them.
Interesting facts about bats
- The opinion is firmly established that bats are vampires who fly out to hunt at night and drink the blood of their victims. This judgment greatly exaggerates the idea of the animal, but not without reason. There have been practically no cases of chiropteran attacks on people, but in Central and South America there are species that attach themselves to large animals that are unable to resist and drink their blood.
- Despite what bats eat in the wild and at home, there are no fat animals among them. It's all about good metabolism. They are able to digest all the food they eat in half an hour, although in an hour of their hunt some species are able to catch and eat up to 60 insects.
- Scientists have found that an enzyme contained in the saliva of bats can help people suffering from heart disease. Once in the human blood, this enzyme prevents attacks, and with prolonged use, it can completely cure the heart. Currently, serious research is being conducted in this area.
- Remembering interesting facts about bats, many will note the ability to sleep upside down. None of the representatives of the animal world rests like this. The fact is that this position allows bats to rest and relax the muscles involved in flight. This also allows you to save energy during takeoff: the animal simply lets go of the claws with which it was holding on, falls down and takes off in a maneuver. The lower limbs are completely unsuitable for running and pushing.
- An amazing discovery has been made: on the island of Borneo there is a carnivorous plant that lures bats with special sounds. But it doesn’t eat them at all, but provides its inflorescences as a shelter. In return, the bats leave their excrement, which is much needed fertilizer for the plant, to the hospitable owner. Such a symbiosis is unique in nature. 16
Flying fish differ from others in that they can not only jump out of the water, but also fly several meters above its surface. This is possible thanks to the special shape of the fins. When deployed, they act like wings and allow the fish to hover above the surface of the water for some time.
What do flying fish look like?
In the water, flying fish are not something unusual. This is a classic-shaped fish with a gray-blue color, sometimes with barely noticeable dark stripes. The upper part of the body is darker. The fins may have interesting colors. Unlike the subspecies, they are transparent, variegated, blue, dark blue and even green.
Why do flying fish fly?
The main “trick” of this type of fish is their ability to jump out of the water and perform a soaring flight over its surface. Moreover, in different subspecies, flight functions are developed differently. Some fly higher and further, while others make very short flights.
In general, flying fish are able to rise above the water to a height of up to five meters. Flight range – 50 meters. However, cases have been recorded when, relying on rising air currents, like a bird, a flying fish flew a distance of up to 400 meters! A serious disadvantage of fish flight is the lack of controllability. Flying fish fly exclusively in a straight line and are unable to deviate from their course. As a result of this, they periodically die when they run into rocks, the sides of ships and other obstacles.
The flight of the fish is possible due to the special structure of its pectoral fins. When deployed, they represent two large planes, which, when flowing around with air flow, lift the fish upward. In some subspecies, other fins are also used in flight, which are also adapted for work in the air.
The start of the fish from the water is ensured by a powerful tail. Accelerating from the depths to the surface, the flying fish makes strong blows with its tail on the water, assisted by writhing movements of the body. Many species of fish jump out of the water in much the same way, but in the flying varieties the jump into the air continues with flight.
Flying fish habitats
Most flying fish live in the tropics and subtropics. Ideal water temperature: 20 degrees Celsius above zero. There are more than 40 species of flying fish, which are common in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Red and Mediterranean seas.
Flying fish can make fairly long migrations. Thanks to this, they also appear in Russian territorial waters. For example, there have been cases of catching flying fish in the Far East.
All representatives of this species live in small schools at shallow depths. The distance from the coast depends greatly on the specific subspecies. Some representatives stay near the coast, others prefer open water. Flying fish feed mainly on crustaceans, plankton and fish larvae.
Flying fish and man
Flying fish have gastronomic value. Their meat has a delicate texture and pleasant taste. Therefore, in many countries they are harvested as a seafood product. Catching flying fish is done in a non-standard way. The bait used is not classic bait, but light. Like butterflies, flying fish swim to a bright source of light, where they are removed from the water with nets or other technical means.
Flying fish fishing is most widespread in Japan. Here the famous tobiko caviar is made from it, and the meat is used in sushi and other classic Japanese dishes.
The bats - the only mammals that have mastered the air thanks to the presence of wings. In addition, the bat is not related to the terrestrial mouse either in origin or in lifestyle.
What species is a bat? She belongs to the order Chiroptera, whose name speaks for itself. Why are bats called mice? it was named for its vague resemblance to a land rodent and the ability to make sounds similar to a mouse squeak.
Appearance
Bat, description: most of the animal's body is devoted to the wings. If you do not take them into account, you can note a miniature body with a short neck and an elongated head. The mouth slit of the animals is large, sharp teeth are visible through it.
Some types of bats charm people with their pretty faces, while others the unusual shape of the nose scares me, disproportionately large ears and amazing growths on the head.
The cutest bats of the fruit bat family considered a fruit dog: She has large open eyes and an elongated nose, similar to a fox. Interestingly, some of the names were given based on the shape of the animals’ noses: pig-nosed, horseshoe-nosed, smooth-nosed.
The white bat has a kind of “horn” on its muzzle, giving its nose the shape of a petal. Thanks to this device, the animal's nostrils are directed forward capture odors faster and more efficiently.
No less The bulldog mouse has a specific appearance: on its muzzle in the transverse direction there is a cartilaginous fold running above the nose from one ear to the other. The cartilaginous roller brings the edges of the ears together, increasing their area for more perfect hearing, necessary for orientation in space during flight.
In the face animal you can “read” about the lifestyle and even about mouse nutrition. For example, fruit lovers do not need the powerful locators needed by flying representatives that traverse their surroundings at night. But their nostrils are wider: they search for food based on smells.
Photo
What a bat looks like: see photo below:
Structure
Birds have adapted to flight thanks to lightweight cellular bones, air sacs in the lungs, and feathers that are heterogeneous in structure and function. Flying bats don't have all this, and the skin membranes can hardly be called wings.
How do bats fly? Flight mice similar to the flight of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine, who adopted from nature the idea of the structure of the wing of a flying mammal.
A solid membrane of skin, impenetrable by air, “covers” the air masses from above, which allows the animals to push off from them and fly.
Skeleton and wings
The skeleton of a bat has its own characteristics. Limbs bats are modified: they serve as the backbone for the wing. The humerus of these animals is short, and the bones of the forearm and the last 4 fingers are elongated in order to increase the area of the flight “mantle”.
A fibrous skin fold is stretched from the neck to the fingertips of the animals. Thumb with a tenacious claw is not included in the wing, it necessary for the animal to grasp. The rear (interfemoral) part of the membrane is stretched between the hind legs and the long tail.
See what bat wings look like in the photo below:
Flight
The arm with the wing is driven by several paired muscles of the upper girdle, which to reduce energy costs for flights attached not to the sternum, but to the fibrous base wing The keel of the sternum of animals is inferior in power to that of birds: only one muscle necessary for flight is attached to it - the pectoralis major.
Spine in flying mammals more mobile than birds. It allows mice to be more maneuverable outside the air.
Movement on the ground
How does a bat move? Evolution has deprived bats of strong bones lower belt, thigh and lower leg, leaving behind them the right to fly most of their lives.
Some types of mice, such as vampire mice, have stronger femurs and able to walk on the ground. The support for them is the thickened skin of the paw pads. Fruit bats cannot move in this way and do it extremely clumsily.
Dimensions and weight
Length of a tiny body animals inhabiting Russia are usually does not exceed 5 cm, the wingspan of the smallest of them is 18 cm. The mass of record-breaking little ones is 2-5 g.
Long-eared mice, white mice and pig-nosed mice are small in size. Representative of the latter species considered one of the smallest mammals on the ground.
Large individuals weigh up to a kilogram. The distance between the tips of the toes of the front paws with the wings spread can reach one and a half meters, and the body length can be 40 cm. Fruit bats, South American false vampires, are considered real giants among bats.
Sense organs
Bats' reaction to light: bat retinas lack cones– receptors responsible for daytime vision.
Their vision is twilight and is provided by rods. That's why animals are forced to sleep during the day, because in daylight they see poorly.
Some representatives have eyes covered with bizarre folds of skin. This once again confirms the hypothesis that navigate in mouse space without using a visual analyzer. Close relatives of bats, fruit bats, also belonging to the order Chiroptera, have cones. These animals can also be seen during the day.
Minor role for animals there was a visual analyzer discovered during a simple experiment: when the animals were blindfolded, they did not stop navigating their surroundings. When the same was repeated with the ears, the mice began to bump into walls and objects in the room.
How do mice see in the dark?
How do bats navigate? In the dark? What sounds do bats make? The amazing ability of bats to fly and get food without vision was revealed after using sensitive sensors managed to record ultrasonic signals, which animals make during flight.
The ultrasound of bats, which is inaudible to the human ear, is reflected from surrounding objects within a radius of 15 meters, returns to the animal, is collected by the pinna and analyzed by the inner ear. Animals have fine hearing.
Nutrition
Volatile mammals have their own food preferences. Based on which product is the animal’s favorite, the following are distinguished:
- insectivores;
- carnivores;
- fruit eaters or vegetarians;
- fish-eating mice;
- vampires.
Read an interesting article about how mice hunt in nature.
Dream
Sleep representatives of bats prefer upside down. With the claws of their hind legs, they cling to a horizontal crossbar or a tree branch, press their wings to their body and fall asleep. Why do bats sleep upside down (upside down)? They do not sleep while sitting: they are weak the bones of the lower extremities cannot withstand hours of stress on them while sleeping.
Sleeping bats, sensing danger, spread their wings, unclench the claws of their hind legs and fly away without wasting time getting up from a lying or sitting position.
Reproduction
How do bats reproduce and are born? Before hibernation animals open mating season. A few months after mating, the world is born 1-2 mice appear, which the mother feeds with milk for 2 weeks.
Cubs bat, are under guardianship mothers 3 weeks, after which they begin to live independently. Ask how long bats live; there is evidence that bats can live up to 30 years.
Exotic next door
For interesting facts about bats, watch the video below:
Flying fish rather floating. There is an inaccuracy in the popular name. Flight involves flapping your wings. Volatiles do not have the latter and do not wave them. The wings are replaced by similar shaped fins. They're tough. By jumping out of the water and spreading their fins, the fish fix them in one position. This allows you to soar, staying in the air for up to several hundred meters.
Description and features
Flying fish in the photo looks different in and above the water. In the atmosphere the animal spreads its fins. From a distance it can easily be confused with a bird flying over the water. In water, the fins are pressed to the body.
This makes it streamlined, allowing it to reach the speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour required to be pushed into the air. Acceleration is provided by the wedge-shaped, sharp tail fin.
The characteristics only partially answer the question: what does a flying fish look like. The nuances of appearance are as follows:
- Body length up to 45 centimeters.
- The weight of large individuals is about a kilogram.
- Blue back. It makes the fish invisible to predators attacking from the sky, for example, birds.
- Silvery belly, camouflaging the animal even when viewed from below.
- Bright, noticeable fins. It's not just the size, but also the color. There are fish with transparent, spotted, striped, blue, green and brown fins.
- A small head with a blunt outline.
- The span of the pectoral fins-wings is up to 50 centimeters.
- The teeth are located only on the jaws.
- Large swim bladder ending at the tail.
Flight of a flying 4-winged fish
The mass of muscles of the flyers is also striking. Weight is ¼ of the body. Otherwise, it is impossible to hold and activate the “wings”. Having jumped out of the water, it cannot, like a bird, change its flight path. This allows people to collect their catch in the air. Especially appreciated flying fish roe. But more on that in the final chapter. In the meantime, let's study the types of flyers.
Types of flying fish
Flyers belong to the garfish family. The ancestors are half-snouts. They have an elongated lower jaw. Hence the name of the family. The ichthyological classification divides volatiles into 8 genera and 52 species. Examples include:
- Japanese. Generalizing concept. Includes 20 species from the eastern Pacific Ocean. Most are distinguished by a wide blue back and a particularly elongated body. Its length reaches 36 centimeters.
- Atlantic. The term is also promising. The waters of the Atlantic are home to 16 species of flying fish. One of them lives in the seas of Europe. It is distinguished by gray fins and a white transverse stripe.
- Sailor. A single species, discovered in 2005, which indicates the rarity of the fish. It is found in Peter the Great Bay. The fish was caught once. Therefore, there is little information about the species. It is known that its representatives have short pectoral fins, and the head accounts for a fifth of the length of the body.
There is also a division into 2- and 4-winged fish. In the first, only the pectoral fins are developed. In the second, the abdominal muscles are also enlarged. Of the outwardly non-standard flying fish, it is worth remembering the pipistrelle. It is also called a bat.
A flying fish with a turtle-like head and a hard shell on top
The body is flat, rounded when viewed from above, silvery with dark stripes. The roundness is partly due to the developed fins moved to the sides. They seem to be stretched along the body. This is why the fish resembles a bat.
Lifestyle and habitat
In order to jump out of the water at any moment, where do flying fish live, she needs to stay near the surface, parallel to it. Having jumped out, the animal remains in the air from 2 seconds to a minute. At maximum it is possible to fly 400 meters.
Although the fins-wings of the fish are motionless, the tail works, performing the function of a motor. He makes 60-70 swings per second. They are produced by fish at a height of 3-5 meters. In order to climb them, the speed when taking off from the water reaches 18 meters per second.
There are several lift-offs from the water in one flight. This is reminiscent of the movement of a pebble pancake. The fish picks up its fading speed again, lowering its vibrating tail into the water. This gives a new impetus to movement, again throwing the animal into the air.
To fly, the heroine of the article heads against the wind. The tailwind only interferes, reducing the lift of the wing. Birds, by the way, also prefer to move against the wind. Flying fish, like swimming, fly in schools. In one there are about 20 individuals. Rarely do flocks unite into large schools.
They often take off from waters near ships. The ships crash into the school, causing panic. Flight is a way for fish to escape danger. There are more potential predators underwater. So the flyers jump out. Albatrosses, fulmars, and seagulls may be waiting in the air. In the water, tuna, dolphins, sharks and dozens of other fish hunt for flying fish.
Flying fish live mainly in the seas. Most species live in tropical and subtropical waters. A temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius is required. There are also freshwater species. These include South American wedge-bellies.
They also differ in their flight style. Unlike other flyers, fish of the family flap their fins like birds. All flyers are nomadic, that is, they can swim far from their native waters. The Atlantic-European species, for example, swims into the northern seas in the summer months.
Flying fish feeding
Flyers feed on planktonic animals. Their fish are found in the upper layers of water. Shellfish supplement the diet. The larvae of other fish are also eaten. Flyers obtain food by filtering water with their gills.
Animals catch prey and swallow it. Fish are not directly involved in hunting. Like the heroine of the article, whale sharks and the whales themselves feed on plankton. Schools of flyers are often found near both.
Reproduction and lifespan
The heroine of the article spawns in the same place where it lives - in the upper layers of water. The yolk sacs containing the embryos are equipped with villi. They allow you to attach to floating objects, for example, boards, litter, algae, coconut nuts. However, the eggs of two-winged fish from the genus Exocoetus float unattached.
The villi are typical of the eggs of coastal species of flyers. During spawning and fertilization with milk, the water turns milky green. The yolk content of the eggs serves as the first food in the life of the larva. In flying fish it develops in a matter of days.
Until the fish reaches 5 cm in length, there is no similarity with adult individuals, since the fins are small and the color is bright. With age, the appearance changes and young animals begin to master flight.
Fish reach sexual maturity at 15 months. Most species from the Atlantic, for example, go to the Mediterranean Sea to spawn. In general, different species of flyers and spawning grounds are different. The timing of egg laying also varies.
How to cook flying fish
The heroine of the article is active at night, so she is often caught by fishermen after sunset. At sunset, flyers are caught, for example, in Polynesia. However, more than 50% of the catch is carried out by the Japanese. In the Land of the Rising Sun, flying fish meat is actively used in sushi and rolls. Here are some recipes:
Flying fish meat is tasty and healthy
- Rolls from 44 grams of rice, one fresh cucumber, a package of crab sticks, 200 grams of feta cheese, 4 tablespoons of rice vinegar, sheets of nori and caviar itself (from one jar). The cereal is cooked for about 20 minutes with preliminary rinsing with running water. Rice is poured into cold water. Vinegar is added to the finished, hot cereal. Then the cucumber and sticks are cut. Part of the cooled rice is laid out on nori. The farthest centimeter of the sheet is left empty. Caviar is placed on top of the rice. Then the workpiece is pressed with half of the mat and turned over. Strips of crab sticks, cucumber and cheese are placed on top of a sheet of nori. All that remains is to wrap the roll using a mat.
- Sushi with flying fish caviar from 200 grams of rice, 100 grams of tuna, 2 tablespoons of Sriracha sauce, 120 grams of caviar, a tablespoon of vinegar and the same amount of sugar. Well-washed rice is placed in cold water. It covers the cereal by 1 finger. It needs to be boiled and then mixed with sugar and vinegar. The tuna is finely chopped and marinated with sauce. All that remains is to assemble the sushi from the base (rice), tuna, processed cheese and caviar of several colors.
The heroine of the article is also considered a delicacy in Taiwan and the Caribbean. From there the products are delivered to Russia. You can find meat and caviar in stores that sell ingredients for sushi and rolls. Flying fish price equal to approximately 150 rubles for a 50-gram jar of caviar and 300 rubles for approximately 100 grams of vacuum-packed fillet.