Description
Book Synopsis"Meshing deft scientific text with Tuttle’s sumptuous images, it’s a superb introduction to the baroque morphologies and flying prowess of these beguiling beasts."- Nature
Bats: An Illustrated Guide to All Species looks in detail at the more than 1,300 species known today.
Nocturnal, fast-flying and secretive, they are endlessly fascinating, yet extremely difficult to observe and catalogue. The diversity of bats is both rich and underestimated and the threats they face from humans are very real. This guide illuminates the world of bats and reveals their true nature as intelligent, social and deeply misunderstood creatures.
This extravagantly illustrated handbook features the work of famed nature photographer Merlin D. Tuttle and in-depth profiles of 288 bats, from the Large Flying Fox, which has a wingspan of more than five feet, to the Bumblebee Bat, contender for the world’s smallest mammal. Bats includes close-up images of these animals’ delicate and intricate forms and faces, each shaped by evolution to meet the demands of an extraordinarily specialized life, and a thorough introduction which explores their natural history and unique adaptations to life on the wing.
If you like this you might also be interested in Owls by Marianne Taylor . . .
Table of ContentsForeword 6 Introduction 8Bat Research 10
What is a Bat? 12
Evolution 16
Diversity 19
Biology 22
Behavior 30
Ecology 44
Bats & People 48
About this Book 57 Yangochiroptera accounts 58 Myzopodidae • Emballonuridae • Nycteridae • Furipteridae • Mormoopidae • Mystacinidae • Natalidae • Noctilionidae • Phyllostomidae • Thyropteridae • Cistugidae • Miniopteridae • Molossidae • Vespertilionidae
Yinpterochiroptera accounts 298 Pteropodidae • Craseonycteridae • Hipposideridae • Megadermatidae • Rhinolophidae • Rhinonycteridae • Rhinopomatidae
Index of Scientific Names 388
Index of Common Names 397
Acknowledgments & Biographies 400
