AY Honors/Bats - Advanced/Answer Key
1. Earn the Bats Honor.
2. What are caves, attics, bridges, or tunnels where bats hibernate called?
Roosts
3. Give three (3) examples of colonizing bats.
- Txbats2lg.jpg
Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)
Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)
- Bat-capture-moth1nov2000 hi.jpg
Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis)
Mexican Long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris spp.)
Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus)
Other examples of colonizing bats include Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) and the southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius), which are not pictured.
4. Give three (3) examples of solitary roosting bats.
Spotted Bat (rare); Red Bat; Silver-haired Bat; Hoary Bat; Western Red Bat. More information can be found at http://www.xpressweb.com/~talon/BatsinAz/furred.html
5. What is meant by delayed implantation?
Delayed implantation is a reproductive strategy used by close to 100 different mammals in seven different orders. In delayed implantation, the embryo does not immediately implant in the uterus, but is maintained in a state of dormancy. No development takes place as long as the embryo remains unattached to the uterine lining. As a result, the normal gestation period is extended, sometimes up to a year.
6. How long is the gestation period for bats?
44 days to 8 months (see above)
7. What is bat guano and why was it important during the War of 1812 and the Civil War?
Bat guano is bat dropping (feces). Among bat colonies, thousands of pounds of guano can accumulate. During the American War of 1812 and the American Civil War, bat guano was used to make gunpowder, since the primary component of guano is saltpeter–the primary ingredient in gunpowder. More info online at: http://www.chiropteraphilia.com/cavehistory.html
8. What disease can be contracted from large quantities of guano?
Histoplasmosis, a fungal disease that affects the respiratory systems of humans. (see online sources for more details)
9. What is the life-span of a bat?
Most bats live longer than most mammals of their size. The longest known lifespan of a bat in the wild is 30 years for a little brown bat.
10. Do all bats have rabies?
Many people do not like bats and are afraid of them because they think all bats have rabies. Rabies is a virus that is transmitted to animals and people through animal bites. A study by the University of Florida has shown less than one-half of 1 percent of all bats have rabies. It is more likely for a person to be bitten by an unvaccinated dog or cat. Excerpted from http://www.Pagewise.com
11. How good is the vision of microbats and megabats?
In addition to their incredible echolocation abilities, bats also process visual information -- contrary to popular belief, most bats have fairly acute vision. They use echolocation in conjunction with vision, not instead of it. More Bat vision Information at: http://science.howstuffworks.com/bat2.htm
12. What North American bat is pictured on the honor?
Red Bat
