Bats
Latest about Bats
![Front and profile of a hammer-headed bat fitted with a solar-powered GPS collar.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/euvEvT9MiQyNLFqiSuVcMa-320-80.jpg)
Hammer-headed bat: The African megabat that looks like a gargoyle and holds honking pageants
By Sascha Pare published
Hammer-headed bats are named after the males' oversized boxy heads, which evolved to amplify and project the honking sounds they produce to impress females during courtship displays.
![Roosting colony of the Honduran white bat (Ectophylla alba) under a heliconia leaf, Costa Rica.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/K4xfHfyoE7KD7Gsy5GA3J-320-80.jpg)
Honduran white bats: The fluffy little bats that roost together in leaf tents
By Megan Shersby published
These tiny white bats, which can construct a leaf-made tent, are extremely picky eaters.
![A serotine bat lies on its belly with its mouth open and showing teeth.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QuQww44dcmBn8E49JEtE3e-320-80.jpg)
Bats with weirdly giant penis have sex for up to 12 hours in a way never seen in mammals before
By Sascha Pare published
Serotine bats that have penises seven times longer and wider than their female counterparts' vaginas are the first known mammals to engage in non-penetrative sex.
![A picture of the complete fossil skeleton of I. gunnelli.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NdENyB7niKRpSzkoHZKDx4-320-80.png)
52 million-year-old bat skeleton is the oldest ever found and belongs to a never-before-seen species
By Sascha Pare published
The bat skeletons unearthed in southwest Wyoming are the oldest ever found, and their discovery has sparked a reshuffle in the bat family tree.
![A Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii) using echolocation calls to hunt at night.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2nAeSJMpDTBNDSFzszuptj-320-80.jpg)
Scientists unlocked the secrets to bats' heavy metal growls
By Elizabeth Rayne published
Bats vibrate special vocal folds to produce low-pitched growls like those of death metal singers.
![a Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) hanging from a cave ceiling](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bV2SvsSsZ5CcRoFjomwhUj-320-80.jpg)
Bats tell predators to 'buzz off' — literally
By Nicoletta Lanese published
This is a unique example of animal mimicry.
![vampire bats hanging from a cave ceiling in a big group](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3Veu6WoGGdYeqjRc2GDpgf-320-80.jpg)
Vampire bats' 'missing' genes may help them survive on all-blood diet
By Nicoletta Lanese published
Scientists uncovered 13 genes that are "missing" from the vampire bat genome.
![A Townsend's big-eared bat.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xZhHVkMvKwgDtu8hcBPPsE-320-80.jpg)
Bats are superheroes of the night. Their superpowers could help us protect them.
By Cori Lausen published
Conservationists are using bats' echolocation abilities to help track these mammals, as many of them succumb to white nose syndrome.
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