Extinct Walking Bat Found; Upends Evolutionary Theory

“Scientists had long thought that the lesser short-tailed bat evolved its walking preference independently.

Since the bat’s native habitat lacks predators, researchers reasoned that—much like flightless birds on isolated islands—the bat had adapted to its safer surroundings in part by walking.

But the discovery of fossils of a now extinct walking bat in northwestern Queensland, Australia, suggests that the modern-day bats descended from 20-million-year-old Australian relatives.

“We were amazed to find they were virtually identical to the bats in New Zealand today,” said study leader Sue Hand, a paleontologist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.”

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Filed under: Uncategorized , animals, australia, bats, evolution, new zealand

Baby Bats Babble Like Human Infants

“Baby bats babble just like newborn human babes, a new study finds.

Babbling is thought to be a kind of vocal play that provides human infants a chance to train their vocal tract muscles in preparation for speech and to practice combining the syllables they will use as adults. Humans begin babbling at about 7 months of age.”

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Filed under: Uncategorized , animals, bats, science

Six New Prehistoric Bat Species Discovered in Egypt

“The new species were found by experts who analyzed 33 fossils—including teeth and jawbones—that had been unearthed over a period of decades in El Faiyum, an oasis region 50 miles southwest of Cairo”

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Filed under: Uncategorized , animals, bats, egypt, Prehistoric