Order Chiroptera

Bats are known as the "things of the dark" and are associated with caves, vampires, and blood. However, not all bats come out at night, many bats live in trees, and only a few species drink blood (very rarely human blood, usually livestock). Bats are feared and loathed by the general public due to misconceptions in horror movies and the misguided fear of disease from harmless species. Unfortunately, due to poisoning, destruction of homelands, and interference by spelunkers, many species of beneficial bats are endangered. For example, many species of endangered bats in the rainforests are pollinators - the only pollinators - of endangered plants, leading to the decline of potential medical plants. Bats are also beneficial in that they control the mosquito population, and mosquitoes carry more lethal diseases than bats ever will. Malaria alone kills millions of people each year, and it is transmitted by the lowly anopheles mosquito.

Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly, with the wings being made up of thin, stretched skin. They are generally rat-like in appearance, with a small, furry body and small head. The ears vary in size and shape as does the nose. Bats are considered to be pests because they can fit into thin space (under the door, through the fireplace grill) and leave guano (bat droppings) in the house. For some people this guano can pose as a major respiratory problem. Bats greatly rely on echolocation to hunt. They feed on either fruit, insects, or fish. There are 17 families of bats found in 2 suborders with 925 species. They are:

Suborder Megachiroptera (large bats, usually fruit eaters)
..Pteropodidae (flying foxes, fruit bats) 165 spp

Suborder Microchiroptera (small, insect eating bats)
..Rhinopomatidae (long-tailed bats) 3 spp
..Craseonycteridae (bumblebee bats) 1 spp
..Emballonuridae (sac-winged bats) 47 spp
..Nycteridae (hollow-faced bats) 12 spp
..Megadermatidae (false vampire bats) 5 spp
..Rhinolophidae (horseshoe bats, Old World leaf-nosed bats) 130 spp
..Noctilionidae (bulldog bats) 2 spp
..Mormoopidae (naked-backed bats) 8 spp
..Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats) 141 spp
..Natalidae (funnel-eared bats) 5 spp
..Furipteridae (thumbless bats) 2 spp
..Thyropteridae (disc-winged bats) 2 spp
..Myzopodidae (Old World sucker-footed bats) 1 spp
..Vespertilionidae (vesper bats - evening bats) 319 spp
..Mystacinidae (New Zealand short-tailed bats) 2 spp
..Molossidae (free-tailed bats) 80 spp

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