Lesser Horseshoe Bat
The use of Blue Birds of Paradise as our test
subjects would be impossible, since these birds are endemic to Papua New Guinea
and are protected by national and worldwide environmental laws to prevent
extinction. In order to establish the correlation between the ability to
sustain high intracranial blood pressures and the morphophysiology of certain
species, we will need to find other models – for example, bats.
Bats are an example of animals that stand upside for extended periods of time, however, the reason why do they do it it’s not completely clarified. For an animal to start a flight, it has to reach a certain speed; bats have poorly developed legs, so, for them to reach that specific speed it’s unimaginable; however, if they stand upside down, they can start the flight when they let themselves go, also being a great way to escape predators. But the main reason for them to stand upside down may be the fact that this specific position is the relaxed position of bats – the answer is based on their anatomy (Neuweiller, 2000), “To hang upside down, a bat flies into position, pulls its claws open with other muscles and finds a surface to grip. To get the talons to grab hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to clench. The talon joints lock into position, and the bat's weight keeps them closed. Consequently, the bat doesn't have to do anything to hang upside down. It only has to exert energy to release its grip, flexing muscles that pull its talons open. Since the talons remain closed when the bat is relaxed, a bat that dies while roosting will continue to hang upside down until something (another bat, for example) jostles it loose.”.
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Let’s not forget that
bats are also mammals, being the only one that can naturally fly, and one of
the most fascinating creatures; from drinking blood to using echolocation,
these animals arouse the curiosity of the scientific community, however, there
is a lot more to explore. Here is a list of
particularities of these animals important to our project:
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The use of bats in labs may seem a bit odd, but there are innumerous studies that use these animals as their biological material, not only in biology labs, but also in the areas of pharmacology and biochemistry; for example, the project entitled “Vampire Bat Salivary Plasminogen Activator (Desmoteplase) – A Unique Fibrinolytic Enzyme That Does Not Promote Neurodegeneration”, whose findings opened a door for the treatment of ischemic strokes; in 2012, the clinical trials with drugs made from vampire saliva were initiated in the Hauenstein Neuroscience Center, in partnership with Van Andel Institute and the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, along with the addition of Saint Mary's Clinical Trial Unit. |
For our
project we are focusing in bats that belong to the suborder Microchiroptera,
commonly known as microbats. The main differences between micro and megabats
are:
This last point was what made us decide to use the microbats for our project, since one of our hypothesis is that the quality and/or quantity of light affect hormone producing. Also, they are typically smaller so it’s easier to work with them.
- Most megabats are bigger than
microbats, however some of the biggest species of microbats are bigger than the
smallest species of megabats.
- Microbats use echolocation.
- Some microbats have tails, whereas no
megabats have them.
- Megabats eyes are bigger and more
evolved.
This last point was what made us decide to use the microbats for our project, since one of our hypothesis is that the quality and/or quantity of light affect hormone producing. Also, they are typically smaller so it’s easier to work with them.
The following
species can be found in Portugal. The ones underlined are endangered:
Lesser noctule
Noctule Serotine Azores noctule Madeira pipistrelle |
Brown big-eared bat
Gray big-eared bat Mediterranean horseshoe bat Greater horseshoe bat Lesser horseshoe bat |
Mehely's horseshoe bat
European free-tailed bat Bechstein's bat Geoffroy's bat Greater mouse-eared bat |
Whiskered bat
Western barbastelle Natterer's bat Giant noctule |
From all these species, only the Lesser horseshoe bat
is a microbat who can be found in Portugal (our home country) and is not
endangered or nearly threatened, so this is the species we are hoping to use.
Lesser horseshoe bat
The lesser
horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros)
is a microbat who can be found almost across all Europe, including in Portugal.
It’s related to but smaller than its cousing, the Greater Horseshoe bat.
Physical Characteristics
This species weights only 5 to 9 grams, has a wingspan of 192 to 254 mm and a body length of 35-45 mm being one of the world’s smallest bats. It has small eyes, strong feet and a distinctive horseshoe-shaped nose.
The base of its fur is light grey in color, with dorsal side fur smoky brown and the ventral side grey, with the exception of juvenile bats which are entirely dark grey. Ears and wing membranes are a light greyish-brown. Their favorite prey are small insects like flies, moths and spiders. They live in colonies and hunt their prey by echolocation |
HabitatThis species lives in warmer regions particularly in
wooded areas or inside dark caves. They are sedentary.
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