Chiroptera features of external structure. Chiroptera - general overview

Order Chiroptera- the only group of mammals adapted for active flight. Along their body, from the top of the second toe of the forelimbs to the tail, there is a fold of skin that serves as a wing. The toes of the forelimb (except the first) are significantly elongated.

Like birds, chiropterans develop an outgrowth of the sternum - a keel, and well-developed muscles that ensure the movement of the wings. Their flight is very maneuverable. Chiropterans lead night image life. Their vision is poorly developed, but their hearing is very subtle. Most species are capable of echolocation.

Echolocation - the ability of animals to emit high-frequency sound signals and perceive sounds reflected from objects located in their path.

Echolocation allows bats to navigate during flight and also to catch prey in the air. For better perception of sound signals, bats have well-developed auricles. Even having lost its sight, the animal, thanks to echolocation, is well oriented in flight. During the day, these animals hide in attics, hollows and caves. In winter, some species hibernate, while others migrate to warmer climates before the onset of cold weather. There are approximately 1,000 known species, including fruit bats and bats.

Fruit bats common in tropical countries Asia, Africa, Australia. They feed on plant foods, in particular fruits, which can be harmful to gardening. The ability to echolocation is poorly developed, but vision and smell are well developed. Representative - flying dog, or kalong.

Majority bats capable of echolocation. They feed mainly on insects, but predatory species and bloodsuckers are known (you-feasts). They settle in caves, mines, tree hollows, and attics of houses. live the bats up to 20 years.

Vampires live in South and Central America. The incisors of their upper jaw have a pointed edge, which, acting like a razor, allows animals to cut the skin of animals or humans and lick off the protruding blood. The saliva of vampires contains substances that prevent blood clotting (so the wound bleeds for a long time), as well as painkillers, so their bites are insensitive. Vampires cause harm to livestock production, as inflammation may occur at the site of the wound. In addition, they carry pathogens of infectious diseases, such as rabies. Material from the site

Horseshoe bats (have a leathery formation on the muzzle that resembles a horseshoe), evenings, nightlights, bats, longwings They feed exclusively on insects, so they are beneficial. They need protection, as the numbers of many species and their distribution areas are declining.

Features of the order Chiroptera:

• capable of active flight and echolocation;
• the forelimbs turned into wings;
• the keel and pectoral muscles are developed.

They fly, but not birds or insects. Outwardly they are very similar to mice, but not rodents. Who are these amazing animals that are a mystery of nature? Fruit bats, kalongs, feather bats, rufous noctules - all these are bat representatives, the list of which includes approximately 1000 species.

Unusual representatives of mammals

The characteristics of bats primarily lie in their ability to fly. This is made possible thanks to special structure upper limbs. But they are not turned into wings at all. The thing is that along the entire body from the last phalanx of the second finger to the tail there is a fold of skin. It forms a kind of wing. The order Chiroptera has another similarity with birds. Both of them develop a special outgrowth of the sternum - the keel. It is to this that the muscles that move the wings are attached.

Order Chiroptera

These animals are nocturnal. During the day they sleep, and at dusk they fly out from their shelters to hunt. Their habitats are caves, mines, hollows of old trees, and attics of houses. Chiropteran mammals have all the characteristic features of this class. They feed their young with milk, have hair, epidermal formations - claws, and their skin contains numerous glands: sebaceous, sweat and milk. Chiropterans see very poorly. This is a characteristic feature of nocturnal animals. But this is compensated for, which is more important in complete darkness. In order to navigate in such conditions, bats also have additional adaptations.

What is echolocation?

Chiropteran mammals, or rather most of them, are capable of emitting high frequencies. Other living organisms cannot perceive them. Such signals are reflected from surfaces encountered along the animal’s path. Thus, chiropteran mammals easily navigate in complete darkness and move freely in such conditions. This ability also allows them to hunt for prey in the air. To make it even better at catching sound signals, all animals of this order have characteristic, well-developed ears.

Real vampires

There are many terrible legends about winged mammals. They say they all attack people at night, feeding on their blood. However, all these rumors are greatly exaggerated. For example, bulldogs hunt insects at high altitudes. And many species of fruit bats feed on sweet fruits, causing significant damage to agriculture and horticulture.

But in South and Central Africa there really are real vampires. Their feature is the presence of pointed edges of the upper incisors. They act like a razor. Vampires use them to cut the surface of the skin of animals or humans and lick the blood from this place. Such a wound can be very dangerous. The thing is that the saliva of vampires contains a substance that prevents blood clotting. The victim does not always feel the bite, since the secretions also contain painkillers. Very often the wound becomes very inflamed. Such tropical vampires can also be carriers of dangerous diseases, such as rabies. Therefore, they cause great harm to livestock.

Diversity of the bat order

Representatives of bats are divided into two groups: fruit bats and bats. The former prefer to live in the countries of Australia, Asia and Africa. In food they give preference to fruits. Therefore, they do not need to hunt. Due to this feature, their echolocation is much less developed than that of other representatives of winged mammals. But this is compensated by excellent vision and sense of smell. Bats, unlike fruit bats, are mostly predators and blood-sucking animals. Echolocation helps them in night hunting. Such individuals live up to 20 years. Let's look at some amazing representatives chiropteran mammals in more detail.

Fruit bats

The importance of chiropteran mammals in nature and human life

The representatives of the animals discussed in our article bring both benefit and harm through their life activities. For example, in Pakistan, the flying dog is intensively hunted illegally because it has very valuable fat. In some countries, chiropteran dishes are an exquisite delicacy. It is known that in ancient times the Incas decorated their clothes with the fur of these animals. Moreover, such an outfit was a sign of wealth and power. There are cases when bats ate large quantities, thereby promoting its growth. Chiropterans feeding on fruits contribute to their distribution. Overcoming considerable distances during the day, bats and fruit bats also carry their seeds. Together with undigested food debris, they end up in the soil, far from the growing area. All this contributes to the spread of many plant species across the surface of the planet.

Representatives of bats occupy their important niche in the food chains of many ecosystems. They not only destroy various living components of biocenoses. By carrying dangerous infectious diseases, they are able to regulate their numbers. The negative significance of bats is also due to the fact that, feeding on juicy fruits, they increasingly prefer to feast on them in gardens, causing significant damage to the harvest. These animals, being the basis of myths and legends about vampires, more often safer than many others. So, the order Chiroptera is the only systematic group of the class of mammals capable of active flight due to the presence of a keel and skin folds that form wings.

Chiropterans are systematically close to insectivores. This is a group of mammals adapted to flight in the air. They serve as wings leathery membranes, located between the very long toes of the forelimbs, sides of the body, hind limbs and tail. The first finger of the forelimbs is free and does not participate in the formation of the wing. Like birds, the sternum carries keel, to which the pectoral muscles are attached, driving the wings.

The flight is maneuverable, controlled almost exclusively by the movement of the wings. Bats can also take off from elevated places: the ceiling of a cave, a tree trunk, and from flat ground, and even from the water surface. In this case, the animal first jumps upward, as a result of a strong impetuous movement of the forelimbs, then proceeds to flight.

Chiropterans are distributed throughout the globe, except the Arctic and Antarctic. The total number of species is about 1000. The order includes two suborders: fruit bats (Megachiroptera) And the bats (Microchiroptera).

Suborder Megachiroptera

Representatives of this suborder are distributed in the tropics of Asia, Africa and Australia. They feed on juicy fruits and in some places cause great harm to gardening. The eyes are relatively large; They search for food using their eyesight and a very keen sense of smell. Few species inhabiting caves have the ability to echolocation. The day is spent more often in trees, less often in hollows, under the eaves of buildings, in caves, accumulating many hundreds and even thousands of individuals.

The total number of species of fruit bats is about 130. The largest of the real fruit bats kalong (Pteropus vampyrus) lives in the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines. Its body length is up to 40 cm.

Suborder Bats (Microchiroptera)

Includes small species, representatives of which have sharp teeth and relatively large ears. Daytime is spent in shelters, attics, hollows, and caves. Lifestyle is twilight and nocturnal. Numerous fine tactile hairs are scattered throughout the body and on the surface of the flight membranes and ears of bats. Poor vision and is of little importance for orientation in space.

Hearing in bats exclusively thin. The audibility range is huge - from 0.12 to 190 kHz. (In humans, the range of audibility lies in the range of 0.40 - 20 kHz.) Decisive for orientation is sound echolocation. The bats emit ultrasounds with a frequency from 30 to 70 kHz, abruptly, in the form of pulses with a duration of 0.01 - 0.005 s. The frequency of the pulses depends on the distance between the animal and the obstacle. When preparing for flight, the animal emits from 5 to 10, and in flight directly in front of an obstacle - up to 60 pulses per second. The ultrasounds reflected from the obstacle are perceived by the animal’s hearing organs, which provides orientation in flight at night and the prey of flying insects.

Most bats are distributed in tropical and subtropical countries. Several dozen species live in countries with cold and temperate climates. Many species from the northern regions fly south. The length of the flight paths is very different - from tens and hundreds to thousands of kilometers.

The number of species is about 800. Most bats are insectivorous. They feed on Diptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera insects. During the waking period, metabolism is very intense, and often in a day bats eat an amount of food equal to approximately their own body weight. Catching nocturnal insects, bats are very useful in biocenoses.

Some South American species feed on the blood of mammals, and sometimes of humans; these are, for example, South American vampires family Desmodusontidae. Blood-eating bats bite through the skin of the victim, but do not suck the blood, but lick it with their tongue from the surface of the body. The saliva of such bats has analgesic properties and prevents blood clotting. This explains the painlessness of the bite and the prolonged flow of blood from the wound.

Among bats there are also carnivores: for example, those living in South America common spearman (Phyllostomus hastatatuus).

They reproduce slowly, giving birth to 1–2 cubs. Mating occurs in autumn and spring. During autumn mating, sperm are retained in the female's genital tract, and fertilization occurs only in the spring, when females ovulate. During spring mating, ovulation and fertilization occur simultaneously.

About 40 species are known in the fauna of Russia. Typical ones are: ushan (Piecotus auritus), red-haired party (Nyctalus noctula). Some species spend the winter in place, hibernating. In some places in winter they accumulate in huge numbers. Thus, about 40 thousand bats live in the Bakharden cave (Turkmenistan). There are many other places where bats gather in large numbers.

Chiropterans are small or medium-sized animals capable of truly long flight. Their forelimbs are modified into wings: the forearm, metacarpal (metacarpal) bones and phalanges of all fingers, except the first, are greatly elongated; a thin elastic flying membrane is stretched between the shoulder, forearm, fingers, sides of the body and hind limbs. The hind limbs are turned out so that the knees face dorsally. The auricles are usually large, sometimes huge relative to the size of the body, and in many with a well-developed skin projection - the tragus. The tail in most species is long, completely or partially enclosed in the interfemoral membrane; the free edge of this membrane is supported by a pair of cartilaginous or bone spurs extending from the heel. Along the base of the spur in many species stretches a kind of skin blade - an epiblema.

The intermaxillary bones of the skull are always underdeveloped or even absent. The dental system contains all categories of teeth. The middle pair of upper incisors is always missing. The lower incisors are very small. The fangs are large. Molars are divided into 3 natural groups: small premolars, large (or large) premolars and posterior (or actual) molars. The most complete dental formula looks like this:

The number of incisors and especially small premolars has great importance in the generic taxonomy of bats. Milk teeth not only in size, but also in shape differ sharply from permanent teeth.

The brain of chiropterans is relatively large. There are grooves on the cerebral hemispheres. The auditory subcortical centers of the brain are especially highly developed, which is associated with an unusually high development of hearing. The organs of vision in frugivorous species (bats and large leaf-noses) are moderately developed, and in most species the eyes are small, and they probably see poorly both during the day and at night.

Chiropterans are distributed almost throughout the Earth to the polar boundaries of arboreal vegetation. They are not found only in the Arctic, Antarctic and on some oceanic islands. They are most numerous and diverse in tropical and subtropical regions. Their homeland is located in the tropics of the eastern hemisphere, where their most primitive representatives are still preserved, classified as a special suborder and family of fruit bats (Pteropidae).

Aircraft and flight is the first feature that distinguishes bats from other animals. The unfolded wing of the animal is a soft (elastic) and continuous (without gaps) panel, stretched between long fingers (like the spokes of an umbrella), large bones of the limbs and sides of the body. The plane of the wing is not flat, but in the form of a sloping dome. When the wing is lowered, the air filling the dome creates a temporary support, is forced out from under the dome under pressure and has a different effect on different parts of the wing. The front edge of the membrane, fixed on the humerus and radius bones, the second and middle fingers, turns out to be firmly fixed, and its rear edge bends upward under air pressure and, resting against the compacted strip of air displaced from under the dome, imparts forward movement to the animal. This was traced through a sequential comparison of film frames on which the animals were filmed during a regular rowing flight. Special shape rowing flight is a fluttering flight in which the animal lingers for some time at one point in the air, like a falcon or a kestrel, but at the same time keeps its body in an almost vertical position. Sometimes the animal switches to gliding in the air with its wings almost motionless. This kind of flight of bats is called gliding or gliding. Only long-term soaring in the air was not observed in them.

During the historical development of these animals, the aircraft and flight improved. Fruit bats and the most ancient and primitive leatherbacks have wide wings with almost rounded ends. Their shoulder joint is single: only the rounded surface of the humeral head rests on the cup-shaped articular surface of the scapula; this allows the wing to make circular movements. The ears of slow-flying animals are usually large and stick out to the sides. There is no interfemoral membrane, or it is small (in the form of lateral flaps), or it bends with the tail towards the upper side of the body and does not take part in flight. The flight of such animals is slow and difficult to maneuver.

Most modern leather aircraft have become more advanced. On the scapula they have a second articular (hyaline) surface (platform), on which the greatly enlarged tubercle of the humerus, located next to the head of the humerus, rests. When the tubercle is supported on this platform, the wing is fixed in a raised state without the participation of muscles.

Among the kozhanovs, the longwings achieved particular perfection in the structure of the aircraft and flight. The terminal halves of their wings are greatly elongated (due to the elongation of the middle finger) and pointed at the ends. The ears are so small that they barely protrude above the level of the fur, without disturbing the streamlining of the body. Due to the long bone spurs and the vastus muscle connecting the spur and the tibia, a brake sac is formed from the extensive interfemoral membrane. The flight of the longwing is very easy and fast. It is often and correctly compared to the flight of swallows.

The highest perfection of the aircraft and flight was achieved by bulldogs. Their wings are very narrow, sickle-shaped, pointed. The auricles are large, but thick-skinned, flat, fused together above the forehead, and they are located in the same plane with the roof of the wide and flattened skull. In this position, the ears do not slow down, but cut through the air in a horizontal plane. In addition, the lop-eared head of the folded lip is separated from the body by a distinct cervical interception. On long neck the head becomes more mobile and performs the additional function of the elevator. When the head is raised, the animal directs its flight path upward, and when the head is tilted, it goes downward. The interfemoral membrane in Bulldogs is small and narrow. The spurs are long, thick, strong. The muscle that tightens the spur is wide. The bending of the interfemoral membrane and the formation of a brake sac from it is carried out not only by tightening the spurs, but also by bending the long muscular tail, protruding almost half the length beyond the edge of the membrane.

In this case, the bag turns out to be strong, but small, located under the lowest surface of the interfemoral membrane, behind the body. When the animal moves quickly, the air rushing into the narrow bag causes a sufficient braking effect. With a larger bag, the animal could probably turn over in the air.

Thus, when improving flight, the composition of the aircraft, in addition to the wings with all their parts, includes the ears, head, neck, interfemoral membrane, and tail.

Orientation in space is the second important feature of bats. Back in 1793, the Italian scientist L. Spallanzani, after many carefully conducted experiments, established that leatherbacks could fly freely in a dark room, where the owls were completely helpless. Animals with their eyes closed flew just as well as sighted ones.

The Swiss biologist C. Jurin in 1794 confirmed Spallanzani’s experiments and discovered a new important detail: if the animal’s ears were tightly plugged with wax, then it became helpless in flight and ran into any obstacles. Zhurin suggested that the hearing organs of bats took on the function of vision. In the same year, Spallanzani repeated the experiments of his colleague and became convinced of the validity of his assumption. The discoveries of these scientists seemed absurd at the time; they found no supporters, were rejected, ridiculed and soon forgotten.

The rejection and oblivion of the auditory theory of Jurin and Spallanzani was facilitated by the new tactile theory of J. Cuvier (1795, 1800), according to which animals navigate in the dark using touch, or, as later clarified, using the sixth sense - touch at a distance. This (tactile) theory has been followed by biologists around the world for more than 110 years.

In 1912, X. Maxim (inventor of the heavy machine gun) and in 1920, X. Hartridge (English neurophysiologist) expressed the idea that the paradox of “seeing with the ears” can be explained by the mechanism of echolocation. Their hypothesis also did not attract attention at first, and the tactile theory continued to remain as the only correct one.

Only in 1938, D. Griffin, in the laboratory of Harvard University (USA), discovered that brown bats and brown leather bats, brought to the apparatus invented by G. Pierce for capturing and recording sounds of a wide range, produced many sounds above the threshold of human audibility, in the range of 30 000-70,000 Hz (oscillations per second). It was also found that the animals produce these sounds in the form of discrete pulses, lasting from 0.01 to 0.02 seconds, and the frequency of the pulses varied in different situations.

Since the early 40s of our century, the experimentally tested theory of ultrasonic echolocation, with the help of which flying animals navigate in space, has become firmly established in science. But in the stream of articles on echolocation, the tactile theory, which biologists around the world adhered to for more than a century and a half, was not mentioned. It has become unclear: do bats use the sense of touch at a distance, at least as a means additional to echolocation?

To find out the role of different organs in the orientation of bats, A.P. Kuzyakin (1948) conducted a series of experiments. Even before them, a very important detail in the behavior of the animals was noted: of the two rufous noctules and four forest bats released in the room during the day, half repeatedly and with great force (like birds just caught and released into the room) hit the glass of uncurtained windows. For orientation, the animals most of all “relied” on vision, the importance of which was not noted in most articles on echolocation.

To clarify the role of tactile organs, each of the experimental forest pipistrelles and rufous noctules had a funnel made of black thick paper placed on their head. The tip of the funnel was cut off so that the animal could breathe freely through the hole. The back visor of the funnel was glued to the hair on the back of the head. Each animal with a black cap on its head, covering its eyes and ears, was unable to fly. The animal, thrown into the air, opened its wings and, usually gliding, fell to the ground, and if it tried to fly, it hit a tree trunk or the wall of a building.

If, in addition to cutting the end of the funnel, holes were also cut out against the ears (only the eyes remained closed), then the thrown animal would certainly fly quickly and confidently, without bumping into the trunks and small branches of the crowns; soon he softly (without hitting) sat down on a trunk or branch, with the claw of his big toe he tore off the rest of the funnel from his head and flew away free. These experiments proved that in experimental animals the organs of touch did not play any role in orientation, and the organs of echolocation were sufficient for normal accurate flight, although the animals had their eyes open.

Not all bats use echolocation. In most of the studied fruit bats, no echolocation mechanism was found. They navigate and find their food mainly through vision. Among them, only cave fruit bats emit weak orientation noise signals.

Leaf-nosed and desmodidae are classified as a special group of “whispering” leatherbacks. These animals emit signals 30-40 times weaker in intensity than the signals of leatherbacks, horseshoe bats, etc. In addition, their signals are filled with a mixture of various ultrasonic frequencies. These are noise signals.

The small animal Aselia trideus from the horseshoe-lipped family and the fish-eater from the lagolipid family alternate short frequency-modulated signals with multi-frequency signals, depending on the situation.

Horseshoe bats have two types of signals. With rough orientation in space, the horseshoe bat emits single signals lasting up to 95 milliseconds, and for more subtle recognition of an object, each long signal is divided into a pack of 2-8 shorter pulses, separated by pauses lasting 4-7 milliseconds. The more pulses in a packet, the shorter each pulse and each pause between them. At the same time, the intervals between bursts during continuous radiation remain approximately the same as in the mode of long single pulses, or are slightly reduced. Both single signals and pulses in bursts are emitted by the horseshoe bat only during exhalation and only through the nasal openings (nostrils), which have the shape of commas and are surrounded by bare leathery plates in the shape of a horn (E. Sh. Air Apetyants and A. I. Konstantinov, 1970 ).

In Leatherdogs and Bulldogs, the location signals are short (on the order of a few milliseconds). Leatherbacks usually emit impulses through the mouth, less often through the nasal openings. Some alternate emission: if the mouth is occupied with a prey insect, they emit signals through the nostrils.

The echolocation mechanism of Kozhanovs has reached very high perfection. We cannot even imagine the range of sounds perceived by these animals. A person perceives vibrations whose frequencies lie in the range from approximately 20 to 16-20 thousand Hz. Leathers, perceiving sounds of the same interval, also perceive ultrasound, the frequency of which reaches 120-150 thousand Hz. They perceive not only the ultrasonic signal coming from another source, but also the reflection (echo) of their own signal. This is the first and main condition for the phenomenon of echolocation. They distinguish the reflection of “their” signal from a mixture of many other sound and ultrasonic waves.

Based on the speed of signal return (echo), the animals determine the distance to an object (not only to the wall of a cave or a tree trunk, but also to such small creatures as a flying fruit fly). By the reflection of the ultrasonic pulse, the animal accurately determines the shape and size of the object. In this sense, he “sees” objects with his perceptive (auditory) apparatus with no less accuracy than we perceive them with our organs of vision. The pointed-eared bat unmistakably distinguishes a metal square with smooth edges from the same square, on one side of which teeth 3 mm high are cut out. The animals recognize targets of the same shape, but different sizes (in 80% of cases) with an area ratio of 1:1.1. The pointed-eared bat in 86.6% of cases distinguishes targets that are the same in size and shape, but one is made of aluminum, the other is made of plywood, and in 92.7% the aluminum square differs from the plexiglass one. The distance at which the animals recognize targets in experiments is about 2.5 m.

The sharp-eared bat detected a wire with a diameter of 2 mm at a distance of up to 3.7 m, and a wire with a diameter of 0.2 mm at a distance of 1.1 le. The Megeli horseshoe bat detected wire 0.08 mm thick in 76.8% of flights.

Chiropterans also use the auditory analyzer when feeding - when searching for and catching insects flying in the air. They hear the noise from the wings of a flying insect and, possibly, the ultrasounds it emits at a distance of up to 4 m. Approaching the insect at an average distance of about 2.3 m, the animal increases the frequency of its emission of signals. At a distance of less than 1 m, the frequency reaches 100 Hz, and in the brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) the impulses are perceived as a continuous buzz before capturing an insect. This happens with well-flying animals of the Kozhanov family (noctules and Kozhanov).

Horseshoe bats, whose flying apparatus is less advanced, have developed a different adaptation when hunting flying insects. The fact is that ultrasounds and their reflections are perceived not only by animals, but also by many flying insects that they hunt. Some moths can detect ultrasonic pulses from moths at a distance of up to 30 m. An insect caught in the path of an ultrasonic beam finds itself in a more advantageous position than a flying animal. Having detected the animal’s signal, the insect changes direction of flight or falls into a state of shock: it folds its wings and falls to the ground. A non-buzzing insect is not detected by the skin. But if an insect flies away from the ultrasonic beam of a flying animal, then the animal, upon approaching, is the first to detect the buzzing of its prey and begins the chase. In well-flying animals, during the chase, ultrasonic impulses become more frequent, already directed towards the insect, but the horseshoe bat, which does not “count” on the speed of its flight, stops emitting impulses altogether, becomes numb, thereby disorienting its prey and successfully overtakes it. Only after eating the captured insect does the horseshoe bat begin to emit ultrasounds again.

The fish-eating animal Noctilio leporinus from the harelip family clearly reacts to the slightest disturbance in the water from fish swimming near the surface and to the dorsal fin or head of a fish protruding from the water and grabs the detected fish with its claws.

The direction and accuracy of such migrations cannot be explained either by mechanical, visual, or echolocation orientation.

The body temperature of leathernose and horseshoe-nosed whales varies depending on the condition of the animal. In the active state, the body temperature of the lesser horseshoe bat varies from 34.4 to 37.4°, and in 13 species of leather bats - from 35 to 40.6°. However, as soon as the animal falls asleep (on a summer day), its body temperature drops to 15-29°, i.e., approximately to the air temperature in the room where the animal is located. During hibernation, which normally occurs in caves with temperatures ranging from 0 to 10° C, animals have the same body temperature.

Kozhanovs are characterized not by constancy, but by changes in body temperature within 56° (from -7.5 to +48.5°). We do not know of other warm-blooded animals in which their body temperature would vary within such wide limits.

The reproduction biology of bats has its own characteristics. Some fruit bats have a double uterus, like marsupials, and most bats have a two-horned uterus, like insectivores and rodents. But in other bats, for example, in American leaf-nosed bats, the uterus is simple, like in primates. Two mammary glands in all animals of this order, like primates, are located on the chest; There is usually one pair of nipples (breast). Very few species of leatherfish have two pairs of nipples, located in pairs on one pair of mammary glands. The genital organs of males are the same as those of great apes. In terms of the structure of the reproductive system, the similarity between bats and primates is greater than with any other orders of higher animals.

Many inhabitants of tropical countries have two cycles of maturation of reproductive products per year, two mating periods and two offspring. In each litter, most modern chiropterans, like primates, will give birth to only one young, a few - two, and only in exceptional cases (two northern species) will three young be born at a time.

With the spread of bats from the tropics (from their homeland) to countries with temperate and cold climates, double reproduction per year became impossible. In temperate climates there has been a shift from two breeding cycles to one per year. But this transition occurred differently in males and females.

The maturation of reproductive products in males occurs from spring to autumn, and in females - from autumn to spring. Mating of some adult females with males occurs in late summer and early autumn. Other adult and juvenile females mate in the spring. In females, after autumn mating, vital spermatozoa are found in the genital tract in winter. Since there are no mature eggs in the fall, fertilization cannot occur during autumn mating. Long-term (up to 6-7 months) preservation of sperm in the genital tract of females (after autumn mating) and in the tubules of the epididymis of males has been established. During spring mating, insemination occurs with sperm from last year's (summer) spermiogenesis and fertilization of the egg immediately follows.

In recent years, Soviet zoologists have established many interesting details in the biology of the mating season of bats. At the end of summer (according to the observations of K.K. Panyutin in the Voronezh Nature Reserve), males of rufous noctules leave clusters of females, and each male chooses a special small hollow for himself. In the evenings, the male crawls out to the flight hole (entrance to the hollow) and from time to time makes unusual sounds, unusual for other periods. This is not a shrill squeak or frequently repeated sounds like the ringing bark of a small dog, but a melodic and not very loud chirp. Females are attracted by such a serenade from the male, they fly to him and temporarily settle in his hollow.

The behavior of pygmy bats is almost the same as that of rufous noctules. Only the male dwarf sings a serenade in flight, and sits silently in the shelter. In both species, males do not chase or pursue females. Females themselves look for males and join them themselves. Cohabitation during the period when the female reproductive system is at rest indicates the similarity of Kozhanovs with primates.

Even more amazing details of mating life have been established among northern leatherbacks, long-eared bats and night bats (three species), wintering in the north of our country - in the Leningrad and Novgorod regions - in areas of their summer habitat in caves with a regime suitable for hibernation (low positive temperature and high air humidity).

Observations by P.P. Strelkov showed that among the females of the mentioned species flying into wintering caves, only 14% were inseminated. In the middle of winter, more than half of the females were inseminated, and by the end of hibernation (by spring) all the females were inseminated. The bulk of females are inseminated during deep winter hibernation, when the animals do not feed and most for a while they are in a state of deep stupor, and their body temperature is lowered to 2-3°, breathing and heart contractions are slowed down tens and hundreds of times compared to the active state. It is not yet clear who is more active at this time - the male or the female. Judging by the behavior of migratory bats and noctules, females are more active.

The period of embryonic development depends on the weather (or air temperature in the spring shelter) and on the number of females in the colony. The higher the temperature of the environment in which the pregnant female is located, the faster the development of the embryo in her body. Pregnant females actively strive to form large aggregations, to unite with each other and place themselves in the shelter in dense groups, in which one female is pressed closely to the others. With this arrangement, even in sleeping females, the body temperature becomes higher than the ambient temperature in the shelter, which accelerates the development of embryos. This phenomenon of collective thermoregulation was noticed and then studied in detail by K. K. Panyutin.

Most leatherback species will give birth to one young at a time. In bats and long-winged bats, the embryo always develops only in the right horn of the uterus.

At the moment of birth, the female long-eared bat is suspended in horizontal position(belly up), holding onto the ceiling with all limbs, or in a vertical position, but head up. The calf rolls out into the cavity formed by the interfemoral membrane bent to the belly. The afterbirth is eaten by the female. Horseshoe bats and fruit bats give birth, apparently hanging upside down, and their young fall into the cavity between the belly and the wings folded in front. In captivity, childbirth occurs with various complications. In females of the same colony, labor lasts from several hours to 10-15 days. Greater horseshoe bats (in Tashkent) give birth at the end of May; Bukhara horseshoe bats, dwarf pipistrelle bats (in Central Asia) and other species of kozhanova (in the Moscow region) give birth in the second half of June.

The baby will be born large. In the lesser horseshoe bat, for example, the mass of a newborn is more than 40% of the mother's mass, but its body is naked, its eyes are closed, its ears are randomly wrinkled, and its mouth opening is small. At the moment of birth, the baby already emits a loud squeak, and, having barely dried, crawls along the mother’s body to her breast nipple. The newborn's jaws are lined with baby teeth; one, two or three sharp apices of the baby tooth are curved inward. With these teeth, the baby attaches itself to the mother's nipple and in the first days of life holds on to the nipple without opening its mouth. In horseshoe bats, the baby clings to mastoid appendages in the groin area that are not connected to the mammary glands, moving to the breast nipples only during feeding.

In the first days after giving birth, females of some species of Kozhanov fly out to feed along with their offspring. One or two cubs hang on it, holding only their mother's nipples with their teeth. Later, these females, and from the first days females of other species, leave their young in the shelter and return to them after an aerial chase of insects. While the parents are feeding, the cubs gather in groups, forming something like a nursery or kindergarten. Returning females feed their young with milk in the first days, and some older ones, probably, with the insects they brought. The female Bukhara horseshoe bat, for example, accurately finds and feeds only her cub, driving away strangers. Some other females feed any hungry young they encounter. For example, a female forest pipistrelle fed (in the wild, in her shelter) a baby bicolor leathern. Having eaten, the cub strengthens itself next to its mother or remains on her body until the next flight. When resting, the female horseshoe bat wraps her baby in her wide wings.

The cubs grow very quickly. By the end of the first week, the weight of the baby doubles. The body is covered with short hairs. The previously wrinkled ears rise, acquiring a normal appearance. The eyes of the forest pipistrelle open on the 3-4th day, and on the 5-6th day of the long-eared bat. The bones of the skull are already fused (the seams between them disappear). During the second week, if baby teeth are present, permanent teeth begin to emerge. The fur becomes thicker and taller. At the end of the second week, the baby’s body can already warm up on its own (up to 33° and above). In small leatherbacks and horseshoe bats, in the third week of life, the replacement of milk teeth with permanent ones is completed and the ability to fly is acquired. In terms of mass, they are still noticeably inferior to adults, but in size (especially the wings) they almost reach their parents. Soon the first molt in life takes place. The dull hair of youth is replaced by fur, like that of adults. The animals begin to behave like adults: for example, Bukhara horseshoe bats at the age of 30-45 days already independently and alone embark on a long journey - to other countries (to caves) for a long wintering.

Even before full independence, about 30-50% of the animals in the colony die. Over 8-9 years, an almost complete change of livestock occurs. But some individuals live up to 19-20 years. The record for longevity among leather workers belongs to brown bat(Myotis lucifugus) - a small animal whose weight is only 6-7 g. One brown bat lived in natural conditions for 24 years.

The diet of leatherfishes living in tropical countries is varied. For example, some leaf-nosed insects of tropical America have probably secondarily adapted to feeding on juicy fruits and flower nectar. Close to leaf-nosed insects, desmodidae have adapted to feeding on the blood of higher vertebrates. They attack some birds, wild and domestic mammals, and sometimes even sleeping people. One of the Panama leaf-noses (Phyllostomus hastatus) and South Indian spearman(Lyroderma lyra) prefer small birds and animals to all other types of food. Some bats and harelips feed almost exclusively on small fish and aquatic invertebrates. However, the vast majority of tropical ones and all from countries with temperate and cold climates eat mainly flying insects that are active during twilight and night hours.

Hunting for flying insects is carried out at a very fast pace. The small brown bat in the wild made 1159 attacks for insects in one hour, and brown leather(Vespertilio fuscus) - 1283 throws. Even if the animals missed in half the cases, the catch rate was about 500-600 insects per hour. In the laboratory, the brown bat managed to catch about 20 fruit flies in 1 minute and often captured two insects within one second. The rufous noctule ate (almost continuously) 115 mealworms one after another in half an hour, increasing its body weight by almost 1/3. During its evening feeding in nature, the water bat ate up to 3-3.2 g, which was also about 1/3 of its weight.

Large leatherfish easily overcome relatively large insects. A dwarf bat hunting near a lamp catches small butterflies and from time to time pounces on an approaching hawk moth, trying to capture the thick abdomen of the insect with its small mouth. Noctule bats and true leather bats prefer to catch beetles, and great bats and horseshoe moths prefer to catch moths; Dwarf pipistrelles catch small dipterans and small cutworms. Some cocoon moths (from the genus Dendrolimnus) are caught by pipistrelle bats, bats and horseshoe bats, but are not eaten.

Only in cool and windy weather do some bats and late leatherbacks catch flightless (crawling) insects. Long-eared bat catches flightless insects even in good weather. He grabs them, quickly running along a horizontal tree branch or from the ends of branches and leaves, while stopping for a certain moment at one point in the air space (before the end of a leaf or branch). In cool weather in the evenings, some animals (for example, northern leathernecks, whiskered bats, etc.) can hunt for insects during the day, when it is warmer.

Typically, leatherbacks (and horseshoe bats) feed during twilight or night hours. Long-winged bats, long-eared bats, sharp-eared bats, and tubenoses feed only at night. They fly out once a day. However, most of the bats (pipistrelles, many noctules, all noctules, etc.) are crepuscular species. They are active twice a day - in the evening and early in the morning (at dawn). Evening flight begins either soon after sunset (for pipistrelle bats and noctule bats) or when dusk deepens (for water bats). When flying in the evening, the animals are mainly busy hunting for insects. With an abundance of insects, dwarf pipistrelle pipistrelles, for example, manage to get enough in 15-20 minutes. Typically, feeding lasts about 40-50 minutes and less often - 1.5-2 hours. Having had enough, the animals return to their daytime shelters, spend a significant part of the night there, and fly out again before dawn. On this morning, more friendly and short-lived flight, many animals do not move away from their shelter, circle in a swarm in the immediate vicinity of it and do not catch insects.

In countries with cold and temperate climate the number of night flying insects is relatively small, and their activity is confined to the warm season of the year. These features of the food of the bulk of Kozhanovs determine many features of their biology: the nature of quantitative aggregations, local migrations, long-distance migrations and hibernation, a reduction in the number of offspring per year to one, etc.

Bats themselves do not build shelters (such as burrows or nests). They settle in natural shelters or those built by other animals and humans. Various shelters can be divided into the following groups: caves (natural, for example karst) and cave-like underground structures (for example, mines); cavities under the domes of Mohammedan mausoleums, tombs and mosques; shelters directly related to human habitation (attics, cavities under eaves, behind cladding, shutters, platbands); hollow trees and random shelters.

Caves and underground structures have a relatively stable microclimate. In caves located in the north, for example in Leningrad region or in the Middle Urals, low positive environmental temperatures last for a long time (months), about 0-10 ° C. Such conditions are very favorable for hibernation, but in summer these caves are usually empty. In the south of Turkmenistan there is a wonderful Baharden cave with a large underground lake, the water in which even at the end of winter is heated to 32-33 ° C. In the summer, tens of thousands of long-winged bats, hundreds of sharp-eared bats and dozens of horseshoe bats (three species) live in this cave. But in winter in such a cave because high temperature the animals cannot hibernate; only an insignificant part of them remains (in the cool side passages of the front section of the cave).

In summer, the cavities under the domes of tombs and mosques are readily inhabited by cave bats and horseshoe bats, but in winter these rooms freeze and are therefore uninhabited.

Shelters in human housing are the main ones for some bats, and the bats themselves have become the same house species as some rodents (house mice and rats) or some birds (like rock pigeons, sparrows, barn swallows, etc.) - In our country, such house species species have become, for example, late pipistrelle, dwarf pipistrelle, leather-like pipistrelle, etc.

Tree hollows are readily inhabited by many bats, noctules, wood bats, and long-eared bats only in the summer, and in winter, due to the low temperature, there are no wintering grounds (in the middle and northern regions).

Random shelters are extremely varied. They are inhabited mainly by widespread and ecologically flexible species (northern leatherback, whiskered bat, two-colored leatherback and a few others). Small concentrations or individual animals of these species were found, for example, in the burrows of shore swallows, in woodpiles of firewood, in haystacks, etc. Herding (the formation of colonies) is characteristic of bats of most species. One colony can have from two or three individuals to several million animals living in one shelter.

In the south of the USA (32 km from the city of San Antonio) there is the Bracken Cave, in which in some years summer time up to 20,000,000 Brazilian folded lips (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana) settle. The departure of such a large number of animals lasts from 16 to 22 hours, and the return to the cave lasts from 24 to 12 hours. Under the conditions of such a concentration of animals, a peculiar microclimate is created in the cave: the air is saturated with ammonia, carbon dioxide stagnates near the floor, the humidity is high and the air temperature reaches 40° C. The cave quickly fills with droppings, and only annual cleaning (removal of guano to fertilize the fields) allows the animals to settle there every summer. In the fall, folded lips fly south to Colombia. Only the females return, while the males linger in Mexico.

Of the leatherbirds, the longwings achieved the greatest skill in flight. They form the largest (among the leatherfish) clusters in one summer shelter. Thus, in the Baharden Cave (in Turkmenistan) at the end of the 30s of our century, there were, according to our calculations, about 40,000 individuals in the longwing colony when they flew out to feed.

Other leather bats and horseshoe bats have only up to several hundred individuals in summer colonies, less often - up to 3000-4000 individuals. A larger number of them could not feed themselves at a distance that they can cover during their flight, which is moderate in speed and not long enough in endurance. The size of a summer colony is often determined by the perfection of the aircraft, the speed and endurance of the flight, and the abundance of food (night flying insects). This applies to accumulations of animals of one particular species.

Mixed colonies, which include animals of two or more species, do not obey this rule, since different types feed different groups insects, at different flight altitudes, and one species does not interfere with another in search of its food.

Chiropterans of some species even prefer to settle in community (in colonies) with other species. For example, single giant noctules are usually found in colonies of rufous noctules and forest bats. The southern horseshoe bats in the Baharden Cave did not gather in a separate cluster, like the Mediterranean horseshoe bats in the same cave, but individually climbed into isolated thousand-thousand long-winged heaps. On South Western Europe, found in Transcaucasia and Central Asia tricolor night light(Myotis emarginatus). No one has ever found it in a shelter (in a cave or under the dome of a mosque) unless there were any horseshoe bats there. The commonwealth with horseshoe bats turned out to be characteristic biological feature this type of bat.

Large and usually mixed colonies (up to 14 species) form in caves favorable for hibernation.

The desire to unite with each other, the herd instinct in bats is so highly developed that sometimes it deprives them of freedom or life. A branch of burdock with five mummies of long-eared bats that died on its prickly heads was sent to the Zoological Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences from the Ussuri region. Apparently, following the alarm signal of one long-eared bat, which accidentally got entangled in thorns, others arrived and also died.

Enemies of insectivorous bats, fortunately, are few in number. Owls and owls attack flying animals, however, even among owls, bats are only incidental prey, an addition to their main food. The hawk Machaeo-rhamphus, which lives in the tropics of the Old World, prefers bats to other prey.

A variety of mites are found on almost all species and often in large numbers. The leather mite (Ixodes vespertilionis) lives on hairy areas of the body and, when engorged, takes on a bean-shaped shape. Others, like Spinturnix mystacinus, live exclusively on the surface of the membranes.

On some, especially smooth-haired leatherbacks (evening bats, pipistrelles, longwings), two types of bedbugs feed: the common bedbug (Cimex lectula-rius) and the closely related pipistrelle bug (C. pipistrelli).

2) fresh droppings (guano) - fly larvae and beetles that eat the larvae.

In shelters that are vast in size and densely populated with animals, the population of cohabitants reaches greater complexity and diversity. Thus, in the Bakhardenskaya cave, there are more than 40 species of animals in close mutual dependence, forming a complex biocenotic complex. The main, leading part of this complex is made up of long-winged bats, and in much smaller numbers - pointed-eared bats and horseshoe bats (Zvida).

The practical significance of small bats (kozhanova) is predominantly positive. Only desmodes (vampires) of South America, which feed on the blood of vertebrates and sometimes humans, are considered harmful. The main harm caused by them is associated not so much with blood loss, but with the transmission of the rabies virus and pathogenic trypanoses by desmodes. The rabies virus has also been found in southern European leatherbacks, but it is not yet clear how they can become infected with the disease.

Even the frugivorous leaf beetles of South and Central America are not considered harmful. They feed on the juicy fruits of wild trees that are not used by humans. Leaf-nosed fruits are often eaten not at the place where they grow, but are transferred to other places convenient for the animals. Small seeds of many fruits that pass through the digestive tract of leaf-noses do not lose their ability to germinate. Therefore, large leaf-nosed insects are regarded more as distributors of tree species.

Long-tongued leaf-nosed insects help pollinate plants. In some species tropical trees pollination occurs only with the participation of leaf-noses.

The overwhelming majority of bats in tropical countries and all types of fauna of the USSR bring only benefits, destroying many harmful insects.

Large leatherbacks eat harmful moths and beetles, and small bats, bats, long-eared bats and long-winged bats destroy many small dipterans, including mosquitoes (carriers of malaria) and mosquitoes (carriers of leishmania). Dwarf pipistrelles destroy a lot of mosquitoes and mosquitoes all summer. The longwings of the Baharden colony alone (about 40,000 individuals) ate about 150 kg of food in one night, or about 1.5 million insects the size of an average mealworm.

Some other indicators also indicate a noticeable influence of Kozhanovidae on the reduction in the number of insects. Under the influence of a highly developed herd instinct, these animals strive everywhere to unite with each other. In the presence of favorable shelters, they accumulate to the limit that is only possible with the usual food supplies of the area. In the case of complete (saturated) colonization, leatherbacks of each species occupy shelters and eat insects according to their specialization. Differing in the species composition of food, in the time and duration of flight, in feeding areas and air gaps, the animals are busy chasing insects from dusk to dawn when their partners (insectivorous birds) are sleeping. If there is little food in a given area, the animals change their feeding place or even migrate to other, better feeding areas. During periods of mass appearance of flying insects (for example, May or June beetles), the noctules and leather beetles that eat them eat more than normal and quickly become fat, although in other periods these animals are not fat. With a tendency toward obesity, the moderate fatness of the bulk of the animals during most of the active season indicates that they exterminate insects to the minimum possible and do not have excess for the accumulation of fat reserves.

Bat droppings provide high-quality fertilizer. In terms of nitrogen and phosphorus content, it is many times higher than other natural fertilizers. Large accumulations of guano in the caves of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Crimea and the Carpathians can be used to fertilize the gardens and fields closest to the caves with valuable garden and industrial crops.

Chiropterans are of significant interest as irreplaceable objects for solving a number of general biological and technical problems. Lowering body temperature is now used to treat some human diseases.

The flight mechanics of Kozhanovs have long attracted the attention of designers of non-motorized aircraft. In the first models, the wings were made of solid panels, structurally similar to leather wings.

Many institutes and laboratories in different countries are engaged in a detailed study of echolocation, which is of not only theoretical but also great practical interest.

The task of the future includes studying the mechanism of geographic orientation, so well developed in bats.

In fauna Soviet Union There are no harmful bats. All of them bring greater or lesser benefits and deserve every possible protection and attraction.

We are talking about both the direct protection of the animals themselves and the protection of their shelters, especially rare shelters favorable for hibernation (caves and artificial underground structures). By cutting down hollow trees (summer refuges of bats), we deprive them of the opportunity to settle in forest parks or forest areas.

Attracting Kozhanovs in the southern regions of our country may include improving existing caves and other underground structures (abandoned mines, mines, etc.), clearing littered entrances or, conversely, closing unnecessary, especially conspicuous and accessible openings. By reducing the number and area of ​​entrances to underground cavities, better microclimatic conditions are created (in particular, eliminating drafts, increasing air humidity), favorable not only for summer habitat, but also for wintering. Not only local animals spend the winter in the southern caves, but also those flying in from the northern regions.

In forests and parks where hollow trees are systematically removed, you can attract Kozhanovs by hanging nest boxes with a rounded flight hole (for noctules, water bats, long-eared bats, etc.) and shlyyankas - with a flight hole in the form of a narrow slit the length of the entire nest - for forest pipistrelle bats, two-colored skins, etc. Hollows can be strengthened on the knot-free side of the trunk at a height of 3-4 to 7-8 years, preferably at the edge of a forest or park, near an alley, clearing or forest clearing, and especially near the shore of a lake or pond .

About 1000 species of bats are grouped into 2 suborders:

1) fruit bats (Pteropoidei) with one family (Ptero-pidae) and

2) bats, or bats (Vespertilioidei), with 14 families; one of them is the glue-legged family (Natalidae) - some taxonomists divide it into 3 families. The fauna of the USSR includes 40 species from 3 families of only the second suborder.

Animals of Russia. Directory

- (Chiroptera) order from the class of mammals. R. are capable of long active flight. The forelimbs are turned into wings, only the first finger remains free: the phalanges of the other fingers, the metacarpal bones and the forearm are elongated and serve... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Yx; pl. Zool. A order of mammals with limbs adapted for flight, which includes bats. * * * Chiroptera order of mammals. The forelimbs are transformed into wings. Capable of flight. 2 suborders of fruit bats and fruit bats... encyclopedic Dictionary

This is a list of mammal species found in Argentina. As of February 2011, there are a total of 398 mammal species in Argentina, of which one is extinct (EX), six are critically endangered... ... Wikipedia

Includes 203 species of mammals found in Bhutan. Contents 1 Subclass: Animals (Theria) 1.1 Infraclass: Placental (Eutheria) ... Wikipedia

Includes about 300 species of the class Mammals that live, or lived in historical times, on the territory of Russia, as well as species introduced and forming stable populations. Contents 1 Order Rodents (Rodentia) 1.1 Family Squirrel... ... Wikipedia

Mammals listed in the Red Book of Ukraine is a list of 68 species of rare and endangered mammals included in the latest edition of the Red Book of Ukraine (2009). Compared to the previous edition (1994), the edition... ... Wikipedia

Overview of the order Chiroptera
(based on: S.V. Kruskop in the book “Diversity of Mammals” (Rossolimo O.L. et al., Moscow, KMK Publishing House, 2004), with modifications)

Order Chiroptera Chiroptera
In traditional systems, they are considered closely related to primates, tupayas and woolly wings as members of the Archonta cohort; in the latest systems, based primarily on molecular genetic data, they are moving closer to the Ferungulata cohort (carnivores and ungulates).
Taxonomically very diverse order located close to the peak evolutionary development. In terms of species abundance, bats are second only to rodents: there are almost 1,100 species in the order, which is approximately 1/5 of living mammals.
Based on morphology, two suborders are traditionally distinguished: fruit bats (Megachiroptera) and bats (Microchiroptera), which are separated so significantly that it is sometimes suggested that there are no direct family ties between them. In the first suborder there is 1 family, in the second there are at least 16. Lately, based on an analysis of molecular genetic data, propose other suborders: Yinpterochiroptera, which includes fruit bats, mousetails, horseshoe bats and spear bats, and Yangochiroptera, which unites all other families. It would probably be most correct to give all three groups the same rank and consider them independent suborders.
Chiropterans have been known in fossil form since the late Paleocene: the most ancient representatives of the order (genus † Icaronycteris) already demonstrate all its morphological features. In the Early Eocene of Europe and North America, about a dozen genera and at least 4-5 families are already known (all belong to Microchiroptera). Judging by the remains found, all Eocene bats fed on insects and were probably echolocating. By the end of the Eocene, the order apparently acquired a worldwide distribution.
The key adaptation of chiropterans is the ability for active flight, for which the forelimbs transformed into wings are used. The load-bearing surface is a bare leathery membrane stretched between the elongated II-V fingers of the forelimb and the hind limb. There is also often a tail membrane, stretched between the hind legs and partially or completely enclosing the tail. Few bats have long tails that are free of webbing, such as those in the family Rhinopomatidae.
The dimensions are generally small: the mass of the pigtail (genus Craseonycteris) from Indochina only about 2 g, the largest flying fox Pteropus up to 1600 Wingspan 15-170 cm. Body covered with thick hair, usually uniformly colored brown tones(from fawn to bright red and almost black); some representatives have a brighter, sometimes variegated color. The muzzle of representatives of a number of families bears special skin outgrowths, which are functionally part of the echolocation apparatus. The eyes are usually small, the size of the auricle varies from very small, almost hidden in the hair, to very large, about half the total length of the body with tail (the maximum size for mammals). In species of the families Thyropteridae and Myzopodidae, rounded suckers are developed at the base of the hand and on the foot, allowing animals to stay on the underside of leaves. In fruit bats, on the sternum, similar to birds, a powerful bony ridge develops - a keel, to which the pectoral muscles are attached; Bats do not have a keel, and support for the muscles is provided by the immobilization (and sometimes complete fusion) of parts of the chest.
The position of the hind legs is unusual: the hips are turned at right angles to the body, and therefore the lower leg is directed back and to the side. This structure is an adaptation to a specific method of resting: bats are suspended from the side on vertical surfaces or from below on horizontal surfaces, clinging to the slightest irregularities with the claws of their hind legs.
The skull is characterized by early healing of the sutures between the bones (also similar to birds), reduction of the premaxillary bone, which is associated with underdevelopment of the incisors. Dental formula I1-2/0-2 C1/1 P1-3/1-3 M1-2/2 = 16-32. The canines are large, the cheek teeth in insectivorous forms have sharp peaks and ridges, and in frugivores they have a leveled surface.
Distributed throughout the world, the greatest diversity is confined to the humid tropics, only a few groups penetrate into arid regions; absent in high mountains and the Arctic.
Activity is usually nocturnal; during the day they settle in caves (sometimes forming gigantic aggregations of several hundred thousand individuals), various cavities in buildings, trees, between branches.
Most are carnivorous: they feed mainly on insects, with the exception of small vertebrates. There are specialized fruit eaters and nectarivores (mainly representatives of the families Pteropodidae and Phyllostomidae).
They breed in the tropics year-round, in temperate latitudes during the warm season. In the second case, some species of the family Vespertilionidae mate in the fall, the sperm is stored in the female genital tract, and fertilization occurs in the spring. In a litter, there is most often 1, less often 2 cubs, which the females of some species carry on the ventral side of the body during the first days during flight (the cub supports itself), and in other species they leave them in the shelter. In captivity they live up to 15-17 years.
(You can see the system of the order Chiroptera)

Suborder Fruit bats Megachiroptera
Includes 1 modern family of bats.
The flying apparatus is somewhat different from that of bats of the suborder Microchiroptera. The ribs retain movable articulation with both the spine and the sternum; the latter bears a more or less developed keel. The second digit of the forelimbs always contains three phalanges and retains considerable independence; in most species it has a claw. The skull bears some resemblance to a skull lower primates. Cheek teeth with a completely lost tribosphenic crown structure, low, with unpronounced cusps and a longitudinal groove, adapted for grinding fruits.
Most representatives of the suborder do not use echolocation in flight, navigating mainly using vision and smell. They feed almost exclusively on fruits.

Family Fruit bats Pteropodidae Gray, 1821
A separate family, the only representative of the suborder Megachiroptera. Family connections and origins are poorly known; some morphological data indicate isolation at the order level, molecular data are nothing more than superfamilies.
An extensive group, including about 40 genera and 160 species. They are grouped into 3-4 subfamilies: 1) the most diverse fruit bats proper (Pteropodinae), predominantly frugivorous, with a typical appearance for the family, 2) Harpy fruit bats (Harpyionycterinae, 1st genus), with peculiar forward-bent incisors and tuberculate molars, 3) Tube-nosed fruit bats (Nyctimeninae, 2 genera), lacking lower incisors and possessing peculiar tubular nostrils, 4) Long-tongued fruit bats (Macroglossinae, 5 genera), adapted to feeding on nectar.
The fossil record is extremely poor: two fossil genera have been described from fragmentary remains from the Oligocene and Miocene († Archaeopteropus And † Propotto) belonging to this family. More ancient Middle Eocene remains have recently been discovered, presumably assigned to this family.
Sizes from small to the largest among chiropterans: the weight of the smallest nectarivorous forms is about 15 g, of fruit-eating flying foxes - up to one and a half kg (the largest in the order), with a wingspan of 1.7 m. The tail is short, vestigial (except for the Australian genus Notopteris, having a long and thin tail), the interfemoral membrane is poorly developed (usually has the form of a skin rim along the inside of the legs. The head is usually with an elongated (“dog”) muzzle, large eyes: hence the names of some genera “flying dogs” or “flying foxes” ". The auricle is small, oval, closed along the inner edge. There is no tragus. The specific structure of the tongue and upper palate is adapted for grinding the pulp of fruits.
Skull with an elongated facial section. Dental formula I1-2/0-2 C1/1 P3/3 M1-2/2-3 = 24-34, in some forms there is a decrease in the number of teeth to 24 due to incisors and premolars. The incisors are small. Well-developed canines are present even in those species in which the cheek teeth are reduced.
Distributed in the eastern hemisphere from Africa to Australia and the islands of western Oceania. They inhabit tropical and subtropical areas, usually in forest biotopes, sometimes settling near humans even in large cities.
Activity is crepuscular or nocturnal, sometimes during the day. The day is spent on tree branches, in caves and other shelters. Some species make periodic migrations associated with the ripening of fruits that serve as food for them. They feed mainly on fruits (they eat the pulp or drink only the juice), nectar and pollen from flowers. Insects are additional food only for some species.
Reproduction is seasonal and occurs at the beginning of the wet season (most species have two reproductive peaks). During the year, the female gives birth once, in a litter of 1, rarely 2 cubs. Some births have delayed embryonic development (most often, delayed implantation), which more than doubles the total duration of pregnancy.
Genus Palm fruit bats ( Eidolon Rafinesque, 1815) belongs, together with the widespread genus Rousettus and three other genera, to a special tribe, whose representatives are sometimes called “flying dogs”. The most archaic of living fruit bats. Palm fruit bat ( Eidolon helvum Kerr, 1792) is the only representative of the genus. The dimensions are average: body weight 230-350 g, body length 14-21 cm, wingspan up to 76 cm. The muzzle is elongated, “dog-like”, with very large eyes. The fur is thick and short, also covering the upper side of the forearms. The color ranges from straw yellow to rusty brown, lighter on the belly and brighter on the neck and nape. The back is greyish, the forearms are almost white. The wings of a fruit bat are relatively narrow and pointed. The tail is vestigial, but always there. 34 teeth.
Distributed in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Inhabits various types of forests, woodlands and savannas. It rises into the mountains up to 2000 m above sea level. Days are usually arranged in the crowns tall trees, although occasionally it also uses caves. It lives in colonies of several tens to hundreds of thousands of individuals. During the day he behaves noisily; some of the individuals remain active throughout the day. It feeds mainly on various fruits. The feeding area of ​​the colony has an average diameter of about 60 km. In some places, colonies of palm fruit bats cause damage to agriculture. In some African countries, the meat of this fruit bat is used as food.
Mating occurs from April to June. There is a delay in implantation of the fertilized egg. As a result, although the pregnancy itself lasts 4 months, the young are born only in February-March. Each female gives birth to one cub.
Genus Flying foxes ( Pteropus Erxleben, 1777) the most extensive genus in the family, uniting more than 60 species. The sizes are varied, but most often large: body length 14-70 cm, weight from 45 g to 1.6 kg. The wings are wide and long, the interfemoral membrane is undeveloped, and the tail is completely absent. The facial part of the skull (and, accordingly, the muzzle) is somewhat elongated, hence the trivial name of the genus. The auditory drums are poorly developed. The premolars are not reduced.
Distributed in the tropics and subtropics of Southeast Asia, Australia, the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. They inhabit forests, often in wetlands; a prerequisite is the presence of a body of water in the vicinity; with development Agriculture, and especially gardening, are beginning to gravitate towards human housing. Recently, they have begun to appear in large cities where tall trees remain.
They form large colonies, especially during the breeding season. Congestions of up to 250,000 individuals have been recorded at a density of 4000-8000 animals per 1 hectare. They are usually nocturnal, although some island species can be active during the day. The day is spent in trees, under roof eaves, in caves, hanging upside down, attached by the sharp claws of the hind limbs. The flight is heavy, slow, with frequent flapping of the wings. They search for food using sight and smell; they do not use ultrasonic location. Frugivores feed on the juice of fruits, while they bite off a piece of pulp, crush it with their teeth, swallow the liquid, and spit out the remainder, squeezed out to an almost dry state. Sometimes they chew the leaves of eucalyptus and other plants and eat nectar and pollen. Some tender fruits (bananas) are eaten whole.
Mating occurs from July to October. There is a delay in embryonic development; most cubs appear in March. The cubs stay with their mother for 3-4 months.
In some places they damage agriculture, destroying fruit harvests. In this regard, in a number of places they fight flying foxes using toxic substances. Sometimes these fruit bats are hunted for meat, which is used for food in Thailand, Cambodia, and the Seychelles. Some species, especially those endemic to small islands, are extremely rare. 4 species are listed in the IUCN Red List, and the entire genus is included in Appendix II of CITES.
One of the largest representatives of the genus and the order as a whole, the giant flying fox ( Pteropus vampyrus Linnaeus, 1758), with a body weight of about 1 kg and a forearm length of up to 22 cm. Distributed in southern Burma, Indochina, Malacca, the Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, the Andaman Islands and the Philippines, inhabiting mainly open forests. Days are arranged in the crowns big trees, settles in groups of at least 100 individuals.
Genus Short-faced fruit bats ( Cynoptera Cuvier, 1824) small genus, includes about 5 species. The dimensions are small for the family: weight 50-100 g, wingspan 30-45 cm. The muzzle is shortened, the premolars are reduced to 1 in each jaw. The wings are short and wide. The ears are rounded, with a characteristic white border along the edge. The coat is medium thick and quite brightly colored, especially in adult males, which often have a bright red or greenish-yellow “collar”.
The range covers forest and open spaces Indo-Malayan region from sea level to an altitude of 1800 m. They usually live in small groups, old males are solitary. Various kinds of cavities usually serve as shelter; some species spend the day in the crowns of trees, and make refuge for themselves in clusters of palm fruits, gnawing their middle part, or gnawing the veins of a large leaf so that it curls up in an inverted “boat” (the only case among bats of the Old World). In most of their range they have two breeding peaks, in spring and early autumn. Each female gives birth to 1 cub during the year.
They feed mainly on the juice, less often on the pulp of the fruits of palm trees, fig trees, and bananas. In search of food they can fly up to 100 km per night. Occasionally they also eat insects. In large concentrations they can harm plantations. By carrying the fruits of plants, they contribute to their dispersal. They probably play a role in the pollination of a number of tropical trees and lianas.
A typical representative of the genus is the short-faced Indian fruit bat ( Cynopterus sphinx Vahl, 1797), widespread in Southeast Asia, from Pakistan and Ceylon to southeastern China and the Greater Sunda Islands.

Suborder Bats Microchiroptera
Representatives of this suborder are called “bats” for their small size, short, monochromatic hair, and often squeaking sounds.
Includes 16-17 modern and all known fossils of the bat family. Most modern families, except Emballonuridae, are grouped into two macrotaxa: Yinochiroptera includes forms in which the premaxillae are never fused with the maxillae; in representatives of Yangochiroptera, the premaxillae are completely fused with the maxillae. Recently, based on molecular systematics data, the family Nycteridae has been excluded from Yinochiroptera.
The elements of the thoracic part of the axial skeleton are immobilized to varying degrees, up to the complete fusion of some of the vertebrae, ribs and sternum. In any case, the ribs are practically motionless, and breathing is carried out by the diaphragm. The carina on the sternum does not develop. In the wings, the second finger is more or less rigidly connected to the third, has no more than 1 phalanx and does not have a claw; the exception is some of the oldest fossil forms. The shape and proportions of the wings, like the entire external habit, are very diverse. The tail membrane is developed differently, but is always pronounced. The eyes are usually small.
Scull various shapes and proportions, always with well-developed bony auditory tympani. The orbit is not closed; it is usually vaguely delimited from the temporal cavity. The cheek teeth are tribosphenic, the tubercles and ridges on them form a characteristic W-shaped structure, traces of which are usually preserved even in specialized herbivorous forms.
Vision plays a secondary role in spatial orientation in many species, in relation to echolocation. Echolocation is well developed in all representatives; echolocation signals are produced by the larynx.
There is a pronounced specialization by type of flight: some forms have mastered slow, but highly maneuverable flight and the ability to hover in the air, others are adapted to fast, economical, but relatively unmaneuverable flight.
Most eat animal food, mainly insects; there are also specialized carnivorous, piscivorous, frugivorous and nectarivorous forms.

Family Mousetails Rhinopomatidae Bonaparte, 1838
Monotypic family consisting of one genus Mousetails ( Rhinopoma Geoffroy, 1818) and 3-4 species. Together with pigtails they form the superfamily Rhinopomatoidea. The group is archaic in many respects, but is not known in fossil form.
The dimensions are small: body length 5-9 cm, weight up to 15 g. The tail is thin and long, almost equal to the length of the body, most of it is free from the tail membrane. The tail membrane is very narrow. The wings are long and wide. At the end of the muzzle there is a small rounded nasal leaf around the nostrils. The ears are relatively large, connected on the forehead by a fold of skin. The tragus is well developed, noticeably bent anteriorly. The coat is short, the rump, underbelly and muzzle are practically hairless. Skull with a shortened facial region, strongly swollen nasal bones and concave frontal bones. The teeth are characteristic “insectivorous”, there are 28 of them in total.
Distributed in East and North-East Africa, Arabia, Western Asia and South Asia east to Thailand and Sumatra. They inhabit arid, predominantly treeless landscapes. Caves, rock cracks and human buildings serve as shelters. They usually form colonies of up to several thousand individuals, but they can also live in small groups. In shelters they usually sit on vertical walls, holding on with all four limbs. They may fall into a short stupor.
They feed on insects. The flight is very peculiar, wavy, consisting of alternating series of frequent flapping and gliding on outstretched wings. Reproduction is seasonal, once a year. Pregnancy lasts about 3 months, females give birth to one baby at a time. Young animals begin to fly at 6-8 weeks.

Family Pignoses Craseonycteridae Hill, 1974
Monotypic family, close to mousetails. Includes only 1 genus and species Pignosus ( Craseonycteris thonglongyai), described only in 1974. Closest relatives of the previous family. The smallest representatives of bats: body weight about 2 g, wingspan 15-16 cm. There is no tail, but the tail membrane is developed. The ears are large, with long tragus. Second wing finger with one bony phalanx. The structure of the skull resembles that of a mousetail. 28 teeth.
Distributed in a limited area in southwestern Thailand and adjacent areas of Burma. They live in caves. They feed on small insects that they catch in the air or collect from the surface of leaves.

Family Horseshoes Rhinolophidae Gray, 1825
Central group of the superfamily Rhinolophoidea. Includes 10 genera, divided into two subfamilies: horseshoe bats proper (Rhinolophinae) with 1 genus and Old World Leaf-noses, or Horseshoe-lips (Rhynonycterinae = Hipposiderinae); the latter are sometimes considered as an independent family. The family is quite archaic; in the fossil record it appears in the late Eocene, and is already represented by modern genera. About 5-6 fossil genera have been described.
Dimensions from small to relatively large for the suborder: body length 3.5-11 cm, weight from 4 to 180 g. The tail is thin, in some species it can reach half the body length, in others it is short; less often absent; when present, it is entirely enclosed in a well-developed caudal membrane. When at rest, the tail curls up onto the back. The head is wide and rounded. On the muzzle there are peculiar bare leathery formations - nasal leaves, one of the most complexly arranged among bats. They include: the anterior leaf (horseshoe), which goes around the front and sides of the nostril; the middle leaf, located immediately behind the nostrils and the posterior leaf, located on the middle part of the rostrum. In some species, additional leaves of various shapes may form both in front and behind the main leaves. The auricles are thin, leaf-shaped, without a tragus, but usually with a pronounced antitragus.
The axial skeleton and girdles of the limbs are quite unusual: the anterior thoracic and last cervical vertebrae are fused together, part of the vertebrae, part of the ribs and the sternum in the area of ​​the shoulder joint are fused, forming a continuous bone ring; the pubis and ischium are reduced. All this provides a rigid bone frame for the locomotor apparatus, while simultaneously limiting the mobility of the hind limbs.
The nasal bones of the skull are swollen in the anterior part, forming a characteristic elevation above the very deep and wide nasal notch. The premaxillary bones are represented only by cartilaginous plates, attached to the palate with their posterior edge. "Insectivorous" type teeth. Dental formula I1/2 C1/1 P1-2/2-3 M3/3 = 28-32. The upper incisors, sitting on cartilage, are very small.
Inhabits tropical and temperate zones the eastern hemisphere from Africa and Western Europe to Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia; to the north they are distributed to the coast of the North Sea, Western Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia; in the east of the range to Japan.
Due to the structural features of the skeleton, the ability of most members of the family to move on a hard surface is very limited: they are usually suspended from below in the summer from the arches of shelters, along which they can then move upside down using their hind legs. Only some of the most primitive species families are capable of moving along the substrate on four limbs.
Genus Horseshoe Bats ( Rhinolophus Lacepede, 1799) is the only genus of the subfamily Rhinolophinae. Includes up to 80 species, the relationships between which are extremely confusing and poorly studied. It has been known in fossil form since the late Eocene.
The range of sizes approximately corresponds to that of the family: body length 3.5-11 cm, weight from 4 to 35 g. The nasal leaves are the most complex in the family. The horseshoe actually has a horseshoe shape and is usually equal to the width of the animal’s muzzle. The middle leaf (saddle) looks like a cartilaginous ridge starting at the back of the nasal septum. Its upper edge forms a protrusion of various shapes - a connecting process, extending backward to the base of the posterior leaf. The posterior leaflet (lancet) in most species is more or less triangular in shape, often with cellular structures at the base. The wings are wide and relatively short. Hind toes with three phalanges. Skull with very high swellings behind the nasal notch and with a short bony palate, reaching only to the level of the second molars. There are 32 teeth (the largest number in the family).
The distribution coincides with that of the family. They inhabit a wide variety of landscapes, from tropical forests to semi-deserts, in the mountains they rise up to 3200 m. Shelters are caves, grottoes, stone buildings and underground structures, less often tree hollows. They usually live in colonies of 10-20 to many thousands of individuals. They feed on insects, which they usually catch in the air. They often hunt using perches. The flight is slow and very maneuverable. In flight, they emit echolocation signals of constant frequency and considerable duration.
Genus Horseshoe Lips ( Hipposideros Gray, 1831) central genus of the subfamily Rhynonycterinae, includes up to 60 species. Known since the end of the Eocene. Dimensions from small to large: body length 3.5-11 cm, forearm length 33-105 mm, weight 6-180 g. Nasal leaves are organized simpler than those of horseshoe bats: the horseshoe is angular and relatively narrow, medium and The posterior leaves typically have the form of transverse cartilaginous ridges (the posterior one sometimes has a cellular structure). There may be additional leaves on the sides of the horseshoe (up to 4 pairs). Adult males of many species have a special scent gland on their forehead. The wings are wide, of different proportions in species with different specializations. Toes with two phalanges each. Skull with small swellings behind the nasal notch and a longer bony palate reaching to the level of the third molar. Teeth 28-30.
Distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, South Asia, Oceania and Australia. They inhabit various types of forests, woodlands and savannas. They spend the day in tree hollows, caves, grottoes, burrows of large rodents, and buildings. They form colonies of several tens to thousands of individuals, sometimes together with other species of bats. Males and females stay together. In regions with a seasonal climate, when it gets cold, they may fall into torpor. They feed on a variety of insects, which some species catch in the air (sometimes from a perch), others collect from the substrate. The flight is slow, its characteristics vary greatly among different species. Echolocation signals, like those of horseshoe bats, have a constant frequency. Reproduction in different species can have either one or two peaks. There is 1 cub in the litter.
(You can read about the types of fauna of Russia and neighboring countries)

Family False vampires Megadermatidae Allen, 1864
A small family, includes 4 genera and 5 species. Together with the previous family, it is part of the superfamily Rhinolophoidea. They have been known in fossil form since the beginning of the Oligocene.
Large bats: body length 6.5-14 cm, weight 20-170 g, wingspan up to 60 cm. The nasal leaves are large, simple: they consist of a rounded base and a leaf-shaped vertical lobe. The very large ears are connected by a fold of skin. The tragus is well developed, of a very peculiar shape, with an additional apex anterior to the main one. There is no tail, but the tail membrane is wide. The wings are long and very wide. The eyes are large. The skull is without the premaxilla and, accordingly, the upper incisors. Upper canines with additional vertices. There are 26-28 teeth in total.
Distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Australia and the islands of the Sunda shelf. They inhabit a variety of forest and forest-steppe biotopes, both wet and arid. Shelters caves, grottoes, tree hollows, buildings. They usually live in small groups. Like horseshoe bats, they have difficulty moving on a hard surface, but they fly extremely maneuverably and can hover in the air.
Small representatives of the family feed on insects and arachnids, large ones also on small vertebrates, including frogs, lizards, and mouse-like rodents. Australian false vampire ( Macroderma gigas) specializes in feeding on bats. They attack, as a rule, from a perch; They grab prey with their teeth from the substrate - the ground, vertical walls, branches, and ceilings of caves.
Reproduction once a year, pregnancy up to 4.5 months. In a litter of 1, rarely 2 cubs. The Australian false vampire is rare and protected, listed in the IUCN Red List.

Family Sacoptera Emballonuridae Gervais, 1855
An archaic family that stands apart among bats; possibly the sister group to the ancestors of all major evolutionary lineages of the suborder Microchiroptera or only to Yangochiroptera. Unites 12 modern genera, grouped into 3 subfamilies: Emballonurinae, including 8 archaic genera, common in both the Old and New Worlds; Diclidurinae, with two peculiar American genera; Taphozoinae, which includes the two most specialized genera (sometimes classified as a separate family). Fossil remains are known from the Middle Eocene.
Dimensions from small to relatively large: body length from 3.5 to 16 cm, weight 5-105 g. The tail is of various lengths, its distal half comes out on the upper side of the caudal membrane and lies freely on top of it. The ears are medium in size, sometimes connected by a narrow fold of skin, with a well-developed rounded tragus. Wings of various proportions. The color is usually uniform, from dark brown to almost white (in representatives of the genus Diclidurus), some species may have “frosty” ripples of white hairs on a dark background. Some American genera that sleep openly on the bark of trees have two zigzag stripes along their backs. There are no nasal leaves. Skull with a strongly concave frontal profile, a raised anterior part of the facial part and long thin supraorbital processes. The teeth are of a typical "insectivorous" type. There are 30-34 teeth (the number of incisors varies in different genera).
The range covers the tropics of South and Central America, Africa (except the Sahara), Madagascar, South Asia, most of Oceania and Australia. They inhabit a variety of forests and woodlands, some species even settle in large populated areas. Shelters rock cracks, stone buildings, ruins, hollows; some species live in curled up dry leaves or are placed openly on the bark of trees. During the day they usually sit on vertical surfaces, holding on with all their limbs, the ends of the wings are bent to the dorsal side (unlike most chiropterans). They live solitarily, in groups of 10-40, or form large colonies.
They feed on insects that they catch in the air; some species also eat fruit. For orientation, they use both echolocation and well-developed vision. Reproduction in some species is seasonal, while in others it can occur year-round. There is one cub in the litter.
Genus Bagwings Grave ( Taphozous Geoffroy, 1818) one of the most isolated genera of the family. Includes 13 species. They have been known in fossil form since the early Miocene. Sizes are medium and large: body length 6-10 cm, forearm length 5.5-8 cm, weight up to 60 g. Tail about 1/3 of body length. The wings are narrow in the distal part and pointed. The wing has a well-developed glandular sac located on the underside between the forearm and the fifth metacarpal. In some species, a large glandular sac or simply a glandular field is developed under the lower jaw. Skull with varying degrees of concave frontal profile and concave upper jaw behind the canine. 30 teeth.
Widely distributed throughout almost all of Africa, South Asia, from the Middle East to Indochina and the islands of the Malay Archipelago, New Guinea and Australia. They inhabit a variety of landscapes, including large cities. Refuges include rock crevices and stone structures, including ancient temples and tombs (hence the name of the genus). They hunt in open air spaces, above the level of crowns and buildings, and fly quickly. They feed on flying insects.
Black-bearded sacwing ( Taphozous melanopogon Temminck, 1841) typical representative of the genus, weighing 23-30 g, with a forearm length of 60-68 mm, uniformly dark color, without a throat pouch. Distributed in South Asia, from Pakistan to Vietnam, the Philippines, Malacca and the Sunda Islands.

Family Nycteridae Hoeven, 1855
A small family including the only genus Shchelemorda ( Nycteris Cuvier et Geoffroy, 1795) with 12-13 species. Previously considered close to the family Megadermatidae, however, judging by molecular data, they represent one of the groups of the basal radiation of Yangochiroptera, possibly sister to Emballonuridae.
The sizes are small and medium: body length 4-9.5 cm, forearm length 3.2-6 cm. The tail is longer than the body, completely enclosed in a very wide caudal membrane, ending in a cartilaginous fork that supports the free edge of the membrane. The wings are wide. The ears are large, connected on the forehead by a low fold, with a small but well-developed tragus. There is a deep longitudinal groove along the upper side of the muzzle. Closely set nostrils open in its anterior part; behind the posterior leaf, the furrow ends in a deep pit. The nasal leaves are well developed, the anterior one is solid, and the middle and posterior ones, separated by a groove, turn out to be paired formations.
A skull with a wide depression on the upper side of the front part, the edges of which in the form of thin plates protrude beyond the contour of the skull itself. The premaxillary bones and upper incisors are normally developed, dental formula I2/3 C1/1 P1/2 M3/3 = 32.
Distribution covers sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Western Asia, the Malacca Peninsula and the Sunda Islands; one species is found on the island of Corfu (Mediterranean Sea). Most species inhabit various dry woodlands and savannas, some live in dense forests. Hollows, caves, caverns in rocks, ruins and buildings serve as shelters; some species spend the day in the crowns among the foliage. They usually live alone, in pairs or small groups, for N. thebaica in South Africa, colonies of 500-600 individuals are known.
All slit snouts have very maneuverable flight, allowing them to catch prey on the ground or tree branches. Most small species feed on insects, spiders and other arthropods; the giant slit snout ( N. grandis) eats fish, frogs, lizards and small bats.
Reproduction in different species and in different places can be either seasonal or year-round. Pregnancy lasts 4-5 months, the cubs remain with the mother for another 2 months. Each female brings 1 cub per year.

Family Lare-lipped, or Fish-eating bats Noctilionidae Gray, 1821
Includes the only genus Harelips ( Noctilio Linnaeus, 1766) with 2 species. They are close to the chinworts and leaf-noses, forming together with them the superfamily Noctilionoidea. They have been known in fossil form since the Miocene.
The sizes are medium and large: body length 5-13 cm, weight 18-80 g. The tail is short, practically not enclosed in the tail membrane. The latter is well developed and supported by extremely long spurs. The wings are very long, widest in the middle part (at the level of the fifth finger); the wing membrane is attached to the leg almost at knee level. The legs are long, the feet are very large, with large, strongly curved claws. Muzzle without nasal leaves. The upper lips hang in wide folds and form cheek pouches. The ears are of medium length, with pointed tips; the tragus is developed, with a serrated posterior edge. The rostral part of the skull is shortened, the skull itself has pronounced ridges. There are 28 teeth in total. The upper canines are very long, the molars are of the “insectivorous” type.
Distributed in Central and South America from southern Mexico to Ecuador, southern Brazil and northern Argentina. They inhabit near-water habitats, mainly in the valleys of large rivers and shallow sea bays. Hollow trees, caves, rock crevices, and human buildings serve as shelters. They live in groups of 10-30 individuals, often together with other species of bats. The flight during hunting is slow and zigzag. They feed on semi-aquatic insects, aquatic crustaceans and small fish, picking up prey with its claws from the surface of the water.
They breed once a year, giving birth to one cub. The later stages of pregnancy, childbirth and lactation are confined to the wet season.

Family Chinfolia Mormoopidae Saussure, 1860
A small family close to the leaf-nosed ones (Phyllostomidae). Includes 3 genera and about 10 species. In fossil form, they are known from the Pleistocene of North America and the Antilles.
The sizes are small and medium: body length 50-80 mm, weight 7.5-20 g. There is a tail, about 1/3 of the body length, protruding from the interfemoral membrane about half the length. The wings are relatively long and wide. In the genus Holospinalis Leaf-noses ( Pteronotus) the wing membranes grow together on the back, giving the impression that the animal is naked on top. At the tip of the snout there is a small nasal leaf around the nostrils, and a complex leathery blade develops on the lower lip and chin. The ears are small, with pointed tips. The tragus is developed, of a peculiar shape, with an additional leathery blade directed at a right angle to the tragus itself. Skull with the rostral section bent upward. 34 teeth.
Distributed from the southwestern United States and the Gulf of California throughout Central America(including the Antilles) to northern Peru and central Brazil. They inhabit a variety of landscapes, from tropical rainforests to semi-deserts. They live in large colonies in caves. They feed exclusively on insects that they catch in the air. Reproduction is seasonal, once a year. Females bring one cub at a time.

Family Leaf-nosed Phyllostomidae Gray, 1825
One of the most extensive and morphologically diverse families of the suborder Microchiroptera. According to the most common views, this family, together with the harelips and chinfolia, forms a monophyletic group, autochthonous to South America, where it arose at the Paleogene-Neogene boundary. Indisputable fossil remains of representatives of this family were found in the early Miocene of South America.
In the family of American leaf-noses, as a rule, 6 subfamilies are distinguished, uniting at least 50 genera and about 140-150 species: 1) True leaf-noses (Phyllostominae) omnivorous species size from small to very large; 2) Long-snouted leaf-nosed insects (Glossophaginae) small species specialized for feeding on nectar and pollen; 3) Short-tailed leaf-noses (Carolliinae) small unspecialized frugivorous leaf-noses; 4) Fruit-eating leaf-noses (Stenodermatinae) small and medium-sized frugivorous species with a greatly shortened snout; 5) Broad-nosed leaf-noses (Brachyphyllinae) small non-specialized herbivorous leaf-noses; 6) Bloodsuckers (Desmodontinae) large leaf-nosed insects specialized for feeding on blood. Some authors, based on significant differences in morphology and physiology, classify bloodsuckers into a special family, Desmodontidae; according to other scientists, these specialized bats are closely related to true leaf-nosed bats. Sometimes the chinworts are included here as a subfamily.
Sizes from small to largest in the suborder: body length from 35-40 mm to 14 cm in the large leaf noser ( Vampyrum spectrum). The tail may be long, short or completely absent. In the latter case, the interfemoral membrane can be reduced (for example, in representatives of the genera Artibeus And Stenoderma), but more often it is normally developed and supported by very long spurs. The wings of the family members are wide, allowing for slow and very maneuverable flight and hovering in place. Bloodsuckers are able to move very quickly on the ground by jumping: their hind legs are practically free of membranes, and the big toe of the wing is very well developed.
Most species have a nasal leaf behind the nostrils. As a rule, it does have a more or less leaf-like shape, in contrast to similar structures in the Old World leaf-noses (Rhinolophidae). Its sizes are very different: the swordtail ( Lonchorina aurita) it exceeds the length of the head, and in broad-nosed leaf-noses it is reduced to a skin ridge. In bloodsuckers, there is no true nasal leaf; the nostrils are surrounded by a low fold of skin. In the folded-faced leafnoses ( Centurio senex) numerous folds and ridges are developed on the muzzle, but there is also no nasal leaf. Among representatives of the genera Sphaeronycteris And Centurio under the throat there is a wide fold of skin, which in a sleeping animal straightens out and completely covers the muzzle to the base of the ears. The ears are of various shapes and sizes, sometimes very elongated, with a small tragus. In species that feed on nectar and pollen, the tongue is greatly elongated, very mobile and has a “brush” of long bristle-like papillae near the end.
The color is often monochromatic, different shades of brown, sometimes almost black or dark gray. Some species have white or yellow spots or stripes (usually on the head or shoulders); sometimes the wing membrane has a striped pattern. In the white leaf-nosed plant ( Ectophylla alba) the color of the fur is pure white, bare areas of the skin are light yellow.
The premaxillary bones of the skull are large, fused with each other and with the maxillary bones, which is sometimes considered a primitive feature. The dental system is variable: the number of teeth ranges from 20 in a real bloodsucker ( Desmodus rotundus) to 34. The chewing surface of molars is also subject to strong variability - from the primitive cutting type, characteristic of most insectivorous bats, to the pressing type, as in fruit bats. Bloodsuckers have a highly developed first pair of upper incisors, which have very sharp apices and rear blades. Their lower jaw is longer than the upper and has special grooves that serve as protective sheaths for the upper incisors.
Echolocation plays a leading role in orientation and search for food, as in most bats. Echolocation signals are frequency-modulated; their frequency characteristics vary greatly among species with different types of hunting. Large, well-developed eyes in most members of the family indicate a significant role of vision in orientation: in frugivorous species, vision is better developed than in insectivorous species. In addition, the sense of smell plays an important role in finding food, primarily in frugivorous species.
The family's distribution range spans South and North America from Brazil and northern Argentina north to the Caribbean islands and southwestern United States. Leaf-nosed insects live in a wide variety of tropical and subtropical biotopes, from deserts to tropical rainforests.
Caves or hollows are used as shelters. Some species, such as the Builder Leaf Beetle Uroderma bilobatum, “build” shelters by gnawing a wide leaf in such a way that it folds along the main vein. They live alone or in small groups, rarely in large colonies, sometimes of several species. The harem organization of a group is quite common, when the shelter is occupied by 10-15 females with cubs of different ages and one adult male. All species of the family have 1 cub per litter.
Leaf-noses are active at night. The nature of the diet is very diverse. Food items include insects, fruits, nectar and pollen. Many species are omnivores, feeding on both plant (fruits, pollen) and animal foods, and even in different populations of the same species, the composition of food can vary greatly. Long-nosed lithonoses are specialized to feed on pollen and nectar. While feeding, they often hover in the air in front of a flower, fluttering their wings, as hummingbirds do, and use their long tongue to extract nectar from the depths of the flower. By feeding, they contribute to pollination, and a number of New World plants are adapted to pollination only by these bats. Some large omnivorous leaf-nosed insects eat small vertebrates. In particular, the large leaf-nosed bat ( Vampyrum spectrum) hunts lizards and small mammals, and is capable of killing a bristly rat ( Proechimys) the same size as yourself. He also hunts sleeping birds, plucking them from branches in the dark. Fringed-lipped leaf-nosed bat ( Trachops cirrhosus) hunts a variety of tree frogs, looking for them primarily by mating calls. Long-legged leaf-nosed bat ( Macrophyllum macrophyllum), probably catches fish occasionally.
Three species of bloodsuckers, as the name implies, feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals; at the same time an ordinary vampire ( Desmodus rotundus) attacks primarily mammals, including humans, while the other two species feed on large birds. This unique method of feeding led to significant changes in both the morphology and physiology of bloodsuckers, making it impossible to use any other food.
For humans, many leaf-nosed insects are important as pollinators and seed distributors, and some frugivorous species are also important as local agricultural pests. Bloodsuckers cause some damage when attacking domestic animals. In addition, they are a natural reservoir of one of the strains of the rabies virus. Many species are poorly studied due to their distribution and, possibly, habitat in a very limited area, but no leaf-nosed plants are specifically protected (not counting local legislation).
Rod Spearmen ( Phyllostomus Lacepede, 1799) includes 4 species. It is the central genus of the most archaic subfamily Phyllostominae. The sizes are medium and large: body length 6-13 cm, weight 20-100 g. The nasal leaf is small, but well developed, regular spear-shaped. The lower lip has a V-shaped groove outlined by rows of small projections. The ears are medium in size, widely spaced, with a well-developed triangular tragus. The skull is massive. There are 34 teeth, molars of a more or less “insectivorous” type.
Distributed in Central and tropical South America. They settle in different shelters: hollows, buildings, caves, sticking to tropical rainforests, damp places, and small river valleys. They form clusters of up to several thousand individuals in one cave. The entire colony is divided into separate harem groups of 15-20 females. Each group occupies a certain place in the shelter, which is guarded by a harem male. The composition of harems is stable and can persist for many years. Single males also form aggregations of about 20 individuals, but these groups are less stable. They fly out to hunt at dusk, hunting at a distance of 1-5 km from the shelter. Omnivorous.
Genus Short-tailed Leaf Nose ( Carollia Gray, 1838) also combines 4 species. Together with a closely related family Rhinophylla forms the subfamily Carolliinae. The largest and most widespread species of the genus Carollia perspecillata. These are medium-sized leaf-nosed insects with a body length of 50-65 mm and a weight of 10-20 g. The tail is short, 3-14 mm long, and does not reach the middle of the tail membrane. The nasal leaf and auricles are of medium size. The tragus is short, triangular. The body, including the muzzle to the base of the leaf, is covered with thick, soft, short hair. The wings are wide, the wing membrane is attached to the ankle joint. The facial region of the skull is short and massive, but also to a lesser extent than in more specialized species. Teeth 32; molars with a lost W-shaped structure, but still less specialized than those of many frugivorous leaf-noses.
The eyes are relatively small; the main method of orientation in space is echolocation. In general, echolocation is less developed than in insectivorous chiropterans. Echolocation signals are frequency modulated; pulses lasting 0.5-1 ms consist of three harmonics, 48-24 kHz, 80-48 kHz and 112-80 kHz and are produced through the mouth or nostrils. The sense of smell is very developed, and probably plays a leading role in finding food. Distributed from eastern Mexico to southern Brazil and Paraguay. Inhabit predominantly wet rainforests. They play an important role in the neotropical forest ecosystem as seed dispersers.

Family Funnel-eared Natalidae Gray, 1866
A small family with 1 genus and 5 species. Archaic bats, possibly close to the ancestors of the American leaf-nosed or smooth-nosed bats. They are known in fossil form from the Eocene of North America.
The dimensions are small: body length 3.5-5.5 cm, weight 4-10 g. The tail is longer than the body, completely enclosed in the tail membrane. There are no nasal leaves. The ears are widely spaced, medium in size, funnel-shaped. The tragus is well developed, more or less triangular in shape. On the muzzle of adult males there is a special skin formation that probably has both sensory and secretory functions - the so-called “natal organ”. The fur is thick and long, uniform, usually lightly colored (from light gray to chestnut). Skull with an elongated rostrum and a noticeably concave frontal profile. The dental formula is the most primitive for chiropterans: I2/3 C1/1 P3/3 M3/3 = 38; molars of the "insectivorous" type.
Distributed in Central and northern South America and the Caribbean islands. They rise up to 2500 m in the mountains. They inhabit various forests. Caves and mines serve as shelters. They live in colonies or small groups, often in mixed colonies of different bat species. During the breeding season, males stay separate from females.
The flight is slow, maneuverable, with frequent wing beats. Capable of hovering in the air. They feed on insects. Reproduction is confined to the wet season. There is 1 cub in the litter.

Family Fingerless or Smoky Bats Furipteridae Gray, 1866
A small family with 2 genera and species. No known fossil state. The dimensions are small: body length 3.5-6 cm, forearm length 3-4 cm, weight about 3 g. The tail is somewhat shorter than the body, completely enclosed in a wide caudal membrane, not reaching its free edge. There are no nasal leaves; the nostrils open at the end of the muzzle, widened into a small snout. The lips may have leathery projections and folds. The ears are funnel-shaped, the base of the ear, growing forward, covers the eye. The tragus is small, widened at the base. The thumb of the wing is greatly reduced, completely non-functional and completely included in the wing membrane. The third and fourth toes are fused, right down to the claws. Skull with a deeply concave frontal profile. Dental formula I2/3 C1/1 P2/3 M3/3 = 36.
Distributed in Central and South America, from Costa Rica and the island of Trinidad to northern Brazil and northern Chile. Biology is little studied. Probably inhabit forests. Caves and adits serve as shelters. They live in small colonies from several individuals to one and a half hundred. Males and females stay together. The flight is slow, fluttering, reminiscent of the flight of a butterfly. They feed on small moths, which they probably catch in the air. Reproduction has not been studied, perhaps not seasonal. There is 1 cub in the litter.

Family American suckers Thyropteridae Miller, 1907
Includes 1 genus with 2 species. Probably most closely related to funnel-ears. No known fossil state. Small bats: body length 3.5-5 cm, forearm length up to 38 mm, weight about 4-4.5 g. The tail is about a third shorter than the body, enclosed in the tail membrane, slightly protruding beyond its free edge. There are no nasal leaves, but there are small leathery projections above the nostrils. The nostrils are widely spaced. The ears are medium-sized, funnel-shaped, with a small tragus. Disc-shaped suckers are developed on the feet and big toes of the wings. The third and fourth toes are fused to the base of the claws. The color of the thick, long fur is reddish-brown on the back and brown or white on the belly. Skull with a long rostrum and a concave frontal profile. There are 38 teeth (like funnel-eared animals).
Distributed in Central and South America from southern Mexico to southern Brazil and Peru. They inhabit evergreen tropical forests. Large leathery leaves, primarily bananas and heliconias, serve as shelters, to which the animals attach using suction cups. During the day, unlike other bats, they sit with their heads up. They live alone or in small groups (up to 9 individuals). They feed on insects.
Reproduction is apparently non-seasonal (i.e., the reproductive cycles of individual females are not synchronized), but its peak occurs in late summer - early autumn. There is 1 cub in the litter.

Family Suckerfoots of Madagascar Myzopodidae Thomas, 1904
Monotypic family with a single genus Myzopoda, and two types. In fossil form, they are known from the Pleistocene of East Africa. The immediate family ties are unclear.
The dimensions are average: body length is about 6 cm, forearm length is about 5 cm. At the bases of the thumbs of the wings and ankle joints, suction discs are developed (noticeably different in structure and histology from those Thyroptera). There is no nasal leaf. The upper lips are wide and hang down to the sides of the lower jaw. The ears are large, noticeably longer than the head, have a developed, albeit small, tragus and an additional mushroom-shaped outgrowth covering the auditory notch. The tail is long, enclosed in a membrane, protruding about a third beyond its free edge. Skull with a rounded brain capsule and massive zygomatic arches. There are 38 teeth, but the first and second upper premolars are very small (unlike the infundibular teeth).
Distributed in Madagascar. Biology is practically not studied. They probably use large leathery leaves as shelters. They feed on insects, which they apparently catch in the air.

Family Casewings, or New Zealand bats
Mystacinidae Dobson, 1875
Monotypic family with 1 genus and two species (one of which is considered extinct). The family ties are not clear: the family is related to the smooth-nosed, bulldog-nosed or leaf-nosed.
Average dimensions: forearm length 4-5 cm, weight 12-35 g. Tail short; like in bagwings, it emerges from the upper side of the tail membrane and is free for half of its length. There are no nasal leaves; at the end of the elongated muzzle there is a small pad on which the nostrils are located. The ears are quite long, pointed, with well-developed straight pointed tragus. claws on thumb and on the toes, the feet are long, thin and strongly curved, with a tooth on the lower (concave) side. The feet are fleshy and large. Very thick fur, greyish-brown on top and whitish below. Teeth of the “insectivorous” type, dental formula I1/1 C1/1 P2/2 M3/3 = 28.
Distributed in New Zealand. They inhabit a variety of forests. Shelters in tree hollows, cracks, rock grottoes. They form colonies of up to several hundred individuals. They fly out of their shelters late in the evening. In the south of the range, as well as in the mountains, in winter they can fall into torpor when it gets cold, but become active again during thaws. They look for food mainly on the ground, run beautifully “on all fours”, with their wings completely folded, and often burrow into litter in search of food. They feed on terrestrial invertebrates - insects, spiders, centipedes and even earthworms; They also eat fruits and pollen.
Mating occurs in phenological autumn (that is, in March-May). Pregnancy is delayed (it is not known at what physiological stage), young are born in December-January.
New Zealand bats are heavily affected by introduced mammals - small mustelids, cats, etc. Range Mystacina tuberculata, once continuous, now consists of fragments not connected with each other; representatives M. robusta last seen in 1965

Family Kozhanovae, or Smooth-nosed Vespertilionidae Gray, 1821
This family is the most numerous, widespread and prosperous among bats. Closest relationships are unclear, but are suggested to be with the families Molossidae, Natalidae and Myzopodidae. Currently, smooth-nosed animals are classified into a separate superfamily Vespertilionoidea.
In the world fauna there are 35-40 genera and about 340 species. Supergeneric groups and many genera require revision. As a rule, 4-5 subfamilies are distinguished in the family: 1) Ornamented Smooth-nosed (Kerivoulinae), which includes the 2 most archaic genera, 2) Leather-nosed (Vespertilioninae), which includes the vast majority of genera, 3) Tube-nosed (Murininae), which unites 2 specialized genera with tubular nostrils and a peculiar fur structure, 4) Pale Smooth-nose (Antrozoinae), also including two peculiar American genera, and 5) Long-winged (Miniopterinae) with a single genus, distinguished by the structural features of the wing and sternum. The last two subfamilies are sometimes elevated to the rank of independent families, and from Vespertilioninae, Myotinae (the most archaic genera) and Nyctophilinae (the only representatives of the family with rudimentary nasal leaves) are distinguished as independent subfamilies.
In fossil form, the family is known from the Middle Eocene in the Old World and from the Oligocene in the New World. In total, about 15 extinct genera have been described. Modern genera have been known since the Miocene.
Sizes from small to medium: body length 3.5-10.5 cm, forearm length 2.2-8 cm, weight 3-80 g. The proportions of the body and wings are varied. The long tail is entirely enclosed in the caudal membrane (sometimes protruding several mm beyond its free edge), and in a calm state it bends towards the underside of the body. The bone or cartilaginous spurs supporting the tail membrane are well developed. The surface of the head around the nose is devoid of skin growths (except during childbirth Nyctophilus And Pharotis); there may be fleshy outgrowths on the lips, for example, in smooth-nosed outgrowths (genus Chalinolobus). Large glands are developed under the skin of the muzzle, as well as on the cheeks of many species. The ears are of various shapes, usually not fused to each other, and can be very large (up to 2/3 of the body length). The tragus is well developed. Leathery pads may develop on the great toes and feet; in disconides (genus Eudiscopus) suckers form on the feet.
The coat is usually thick and of varying lengths. The color is very diverse: from almost white to bright red and black, sometimes with a “silver coating”, “frosty ripples” and even with a pattern of white spots of various shapes and sizes; the belly is often lighter than the back. Hair is usually two-, sometimes three-colored. Some species have developed odorous buccal glands. Females have 1, rarely 2 pairs of breast nipples.
The shape of the skull is varied, but deep palatine and nasal notches are always present. In the skull, the premaxillary bones are separated by the palatine notch and do not have palatine processes. The number of teeth varies from 28 to 38 due to the different number of incisors and premolars. The number of molars is always 3/3; W-shaped ridges are well developed on their chewing surface. In all subfamilies and tribes there is a tendency towards shortening of the facial part of the skull and reduction of premolars. The most complete set of teeth I2/3 C1/1 P3/3 M3/3 = 38 in the ornate smooth-nosed bats and most bats.
The distribution practically coincides with the range of the order (except for some small islands). Species of the family are found on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. The northern border of the range coincides with the border of the forest zone. They inhabit a wide variety of landscapes, from deserts to tropical and boreal forests. Of the bats, temperate regions and anthropogenic landscapes (including cities) have been most actively colonized.
Caves, hollows, rock cracks, various buildings, and epiphytic vegetation serve as shelters; winter refuges of boreal species caves and underground structures. They live alone or in colonies of several tens to tens of thousands of individuals; often different species form mixed colonies. Colonies consist predominantly of females with cubs, most males keep separately.
In temperate latitudes they hibernate; some species make seasonal migrations of up to 1500 km. Activity is crepuscular and nocturnal, sometimes around the clock.
Most species feed on nocturnal insects, which are caught on the fly or collected from the surface of the earth, tree trunks, leaves, and water surface. Some species eat arachnids and small fish. There are known cases of feeding on terrestrial vertebrates: the pale smoothnose ( Antrozous pallidus), probably sometimes catches and eats small sac hoppers.
They bring from 1 to 3 (some tropical species) litters per year, 1-2 (up to 4-5) cubs. The mating period can be localized in time, with a pronounced rut, or extended (especially in hibernating species). Ovulation may be preceded by long-term (up to 7-8 months) storage of sperm in the female genital tract or delayed implantation of a fertilized egg (in longwings, genus Miniopterus). They breed in the warm season or in the wet season, sometimes all year round. Pregnancy is about 1.5-3 months, lactation is about 1-2 months.
(You can read about the species and genera of the fauna of Russia and neighboring countries)

Family Fold-lipped, or Bulldogs Molossidae Gervais, 1856
The family includes about 19 genera and 90 species, divided into 2 subfamilies; The peculiar archaic genus Tomopeas ( Tomopeas), sometimes classified as Vespertilionidae. Family connections are not clear, most often it is assumed that they are related to smooth-nosed animals. They are known in fossil form from the Eocene of Europe and North America. In total, about 5 fossil genera have been described; modern genera have been known since the Oligocene.
Sizes are medium and small: body length 4-14.5 cm, forearm length 3-8.5 cm, wingspan 19-60 cm, weight 6-190 g. Muzzle without any cutaneous-cartilaginous outgrowths, but often with very wide leathery upper lips, mottled with transverse folds. The ears are usually wide, fleshy, with a small tragus, and usually with an antitragus, often connected on the forehead by a leathery bridge. In some foldlips, the auricles are bent forward and grow to the midline of the muzzle, sometimes almost to the nose (the genus Foldedlips, Otomops). Short ears are only found in holoskins (genus Cheiromeles), but they also have a noticeable rudimentary fold connecting the right and left ears. The wing is very long and pointed. The tail is usually slightly longer than half the body, fleshy, protruding significantly from the narrow interfemoral membrane; hence another name for the family: Free-tailed. The hind limbs are rather short, massive, the feet are wide, often with long curved setae.
The coat is usually thick, short, sometimes the hairline is reduced (like Cheiromeles). The color is varied: from light gray to reddish-brown and almost black, usually monochromatic, the belly is sometimes noticeably lighter than the back. Some species have developed odorous throat glands. Females have a pair of breast nipples. In the skull, the premaxillary bones are well developed, with powerful incisors, usually separated by a narrow palatine notch. Dental formula I1/1-3 C1/1 P1-2/2 M3/3 = 26-32.
Distribution covers the tropics and subtropics of all continents, in the New World from the USA to central Argentina and the Caribbean islands, in the Old World from the Mediterranean, Central Asia, eastern China, Korea and Japan to South Africa, Australia and the Fiji Islands.
They inhabit a variety of landscapes from deserts to deciduous forests, without avoiding anthropogenic lands; in the mountains up to 3100 m above sea level. Shelters caves, rock cracks, roof cladding of human buildings, hollows. They form colonies from several tens to many thousands of individuals. Mexican folded lip ( Tadarida brasiliensis) in some caves in the southern United States forms colonies of up to 20 million individuals - the largest concentrations of mammals on Earth. They can make significant seasonal migrations, and in some places they can go into torpor during unfavorable seasons.
Insectivores, they usually hunt at high altitudes, their flight is swift, reminiscent of the flight of swifts. In flight, they emit weakly frequency-modulated echolocation signals of very high intensity.
Mating shortly before ovulation, they breed in the warm season or in the wet season, some tropical species bring up to 3 broods per year, 1 cub each. Pregnancy is about 2-3 months, lactation is about 1-2 months.
One of the most common genus Foldedlips (Tadarida Rafinesque, 1814), numbering more than 8 species, distributed in the tropics and subtropics of both hemispheres. Previously, the small folded lips were also included here as a subgenera ( Chaerephon), folded-lipped goblins ( Mormopterus) and folded lips large ( Mops), then the genus numbered up to 45-48 species. Together with the named and 2-3 more genera they form the tribe Tadaridini, sometimes considered as a subfamily.
(You can read about the type of fauna of Russia and neighboring countries)

(c) Kruskop S.V., text, drawings, 2004
(c) Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, 2004