Which mammals have the ability to fly (how many species of bats are there in the world)

Q1: Which mammals have the ability to fly?

A: Flying squirrels of the order Rodentia, cat monkeys of the order Dermoptera, marsupial gliders and giant gliders of the order Marsupials, bats of the order Chiroptera, etc., but only bats have the ability to fly actively.

Q2: How many species of bats are there in the world?

A: So far, more than 800 species of bats have been discovered, making them the second largest mammal in terms of species and number, second only to rodents (mice). Among them, there are more than 700 species of Microchiroptera, mainly some insectivorous or omnivorous species, which are also the earliest bats; another type of bat is Macrochiroptera, which has larger individuals, more developed vision and smell (than the former), feeds on fruits, and has about 100 species. Macrochiroptera bats did not have fossil records until the middle and late Tertiary.

Q3: What do bat wings look like?

A: The forelimbs of bats have evolved into wings with flying ability. The wings are composed of extended phalanges, metacarpals, carpal bones, radius and ulna, humerus, soft, almost bare thin skin wing membranes supported by the sides of the body and its hind limbs. The wings of bats are mainly composed of four groups of fingers, so the wings can be folded on the side of the body when resting, and the second to fifth fingers are parallel to each other on the side of the body, so that the entire wing membrane is also surrounded by the body.

Q4: Why can bats avoid obstacles and accurately capture prey when flying in the dark night?

A: So far, the earliest fossil record of bats appeared in the strata of Wyoming, USA (geological age about 50 million years ago), and bats at that time already had an echolocation system. Bats can emit high-frequency sound waves at very short intervals. When these sound waves hit objects or insects, the sound waves emitted back are received by the bats' sensitive ears, which can accurately locate the direction, movement speed and movement trajectory of the prey, and can also effectively explore three-dimensional space and avoid obstacles.

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