Are Bats Rodents?
Bats might look like they could be siblings or cousins with rodents, therefore at the very least so it is not surprising that people wonder if bats are related to rodents. Though you may be tempted to view them as flying mice, bats have no connection to rodents. While rodents fall under the category of life forms known as Rodentia, bats belong to an entirely different group – the order of Chiroptera, a classification reserved only for bats.
Bats and rodents do have a few things in common nonetheless. For one, they are both associated with diseases such as leptospirosis and they are both known for intrusion in human homes, especially in the winter. They also have a similar body covering –fur. Perhaps the greatest similarity is the phobia that many people have when it comes to these two wildlife species.
Against the popular beliefs, bats are not rodents and they’re not even closely related. Research says bats are related to primates such as monkeys, apes, and yes, even humans. Bats are mammals. They have a 4-chambered heart, a backbone, complex brain functions, hair, mammary glands, the whole mammal nine yards. They are members of their own biological order, Chiroptera, meaning “hand-wing.” When you look at their wings, this translation makes perfect sense. Their wings resemble hands with the fingers spread far apart. Membranes connect the 2-5 digits, leaving the thumb free at the edge of the wing for climbing, fighting, or handling a meal.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BATS AND OTHER WILDLIFE SPECIES
Bats are unique in a few ways. One of those unique traits is their use of echolocation to navigate the night skies. Even though bats have been labelled as blind they aren’t. In fact, most bat species have vision quality that is comparable to that of human beings and one species, the fruit bat can see color and have eyes that adjusts to light in a manner similar to those of cats.
FACTS ABOUT BATS
Bats usually have fur on their heads as well as other parts of their bodies. Though these warm-blooded creatures usually eat small bugs, bats are some of the only known mammals to have species which feed on blood. Their muzzle, ear, fur color, and wing size help to set each species of bat apart from one another.
Bats mate once a year and, depending on the bat species and location, can be anywhere from mid-spring to early fall. The gestation period is also dependent on the bat species and can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
THE ROLES OF BATS IN THE ECOSYSTEM
Bats, like many other animals and insects, are an important part of the ecosystem. Bats are known as a natural form of pest control, helpful to gardeners and farmers who rely on them to eat many of the crop-killing insects. Some farmers have even built bat houses to attract bats to their field or orchards for “free labor.”
Furthermore, bats are also useful to farmers for their fertilization and pollination. Bat droppings, called guano, have certain properties that make it ideal to be used as manure for fertilizing crops. Bat droppings are also important in that they help to redistribute seeds.
Bats serve as the sole pollinators for certain species of fruits through the pollination process known as chiropterophily. A bat’s main food source comes from a flower’s nectar and, in turn, allows the flower to develop in fruit.
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