Gallery: Leaf-Living Bats

Roosting Bats

Spix's disc-winged bats roost — (Image credit: © Manuel Sánchez )

Spix's disc-winged bats roost in an unfurling leaf in the rainforest of Costa Rica.

Bat Teeth

Spix's disc-winged bats roost — (Image credit: © Sébastien Puechmaille )

Spix's disc-winged bats form groups of five or six, staying together for years despite their itinerate lifestyles.

Spix's Disc-Winged Bat

A bat in a roost — (Image credit: © Sébastien Puechmaille )

A new study of Spix's disc-winged bats finds that their tubular roosts also serve as hearing aids, amplifying the cries of flying bats so those in the roost can hear them better.

Bat Exits a Roost

Spix's disc-winged bats roost — (Image credit: © Gloriana Chaverri )

A Spix's disc-winged bat takes flight from its roost.

Spix's Disc-Winged Bat in Flight

Spix's disc-winged bats roost — (Image credit: © Michael Buchalski )

This Spix's disc-winged bat will find another roost after a night of hunting.

Bat in Flight

Spix's disc-winged bats roost — (Image credit: © Gloriana Chaverri )

Disc-winged bats are named for the suction-cup like structures on their wings and feet, which allow them to cling to the smooth surfaces of their leaf roosts.

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.