Bat Skeleton

The over 1,100 species of bat are incredibly diverse, from the tiny bumblebee bat to giant flying foxes with 6 foot wingspans. The forelimbs of a bat are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of sustained flight. Little is known about the evolution of these unusual animals because their delicate skeletons do not fossilize well. This skeleton is a Japanese House Bat, or Japanese Pipistrelle, which is a kind of vesper bat native to Japan, Taiwan and Korea. It gets its name from its tendency to roost in the roofs of old buildings. Like most vesper bats, the Japanese House Bat eats mainly insects and hunts at night, relying on echolocation to find its way around. It is a relatively small bat, with a body length of about 3.5 cm and a wingspan of about 3 cm.