Creepiest Creatures: The Water Bat
Photo Credit: Julien Renoult
This bat has been stuck in my head for years. I saw a video of how it catches its prey and I have never been the same. Since it’s close to Halloween when I’m writing this (maybe not when you're reading this but that’s your fault), I’m going to kick off the Creepiest Creatures Saga with the Water Bat (AKA Daubenton's bat, AKA Myotis daubentonii, AKA one of the creepiest bats I know about). To be clear, creepy is a compliment because this creature’s weird abilities are amazing and highly lethal... if you are a moth.
This bat, who can mostly be found in Europe and Asia, uses echolocation to find its prey. Many of you have probably heard this term before but I’m not sure you realize how incredible that is. This creature, who can not see very well, makes loud screeching, clicking sounds that are so high-pitched that humans can’t hear them. Then it waits and listens for that sound to echo off of any objects nearby (particularly bug-shaped objects).
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/echolocation
Essentially, it screams into the void and then waits and listens to what screams back. Tell me you don’t find that awesome. Plus, it does all this while flying through the air- that's some serious cardio right there. The echo will tell the bat what the object in front of them is shaped like, how close it is, and which direction it is going. Bats can do this very quickly and use these reverberations to eat many bugs in a single hunting session- this is why you see bats flying in crazy, erratic patterns; they are turning their bodies to quickly catch their prey as it flies in different directions. Forget cross-fit. I want to do the Water Bat workout- leap through the air with my eyes closed, screeching at the top of my lungs.
Photo Credit: Rod Baker
I haven’t even mentioned the best part yet, they have a special net between their legs to catch their prey. You read that right. They use a skin flap that stretches between their legs and acts like a giant net, and they use this giant net to scoop up insects they find with their echolocation. This is why this bat has been impossible for me to forget once I saw it hunt. It can scoop up a moth in its leg-net and then shovel that moth directly into its mouth- while it’s still flying! Now, it is not the only species of bat that can do this, but it is the first one I learned about, so it holds a special, creepy place in my heart.
How did nature allow this to happen, you ask? You probably know how bats have wings made of stretched out skin. What you may not know is that this skin is stretched across a bat’s insanely long fingers.
Photo Credit: © Paul van Hoof
The Water Bat has evolved to have an extra flap of skin that stretches between its legs to create this horrific flesh-trap. This helps them encase flying insects or even scoop up insects that have fallen into the water- hence the name “Water Bat”. Fun fact: these bats can also swim, so this is the only mammal that can fly, walk, and swim. So, if you fear bats, you can now fear this bat coming at you in the sky, on the land, or in the water.
So now you’re probably thinking: “Oh my Dracula, I need to see this bat in action” luckily for you, I’ve included a video clip of this amazing creep below. Enjoy!
Video Credit: BBC Earth
If you learn one thing reading this, learn that bats are wonderful and incredible creatures. Not only do they have extremely cool adaptions for us to marvel at, but they also eat bugs that we don’t want around, and they are pretty cute to look at… in the right lighting. I happily share my yard with these misunderstood flying beasts and so should you. Be kind to our only flying relative!
Tune in next time for another installment of Creepiest Creatures and you can always learn about other incredible science topics at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, NH! (https://www.starhop.com/tickets)
