#Bats of China

[loveisinthebat]

Wee Lad

[octobersociety]

[dailydccomics]

Super-Man and the Justice League of China (and friends!) art by Bernard Chang

[mysharona1987]

Bats eyeing their redemption arc.

[shamlesspandanerd]

[superheroes-or-whatever]

Batman Incorporated (2022-2023) #10-11 art by John Timms and Michele Bandini

[palaeonecromancy]

Happy Fossil Friday!

Who: Yi qi

name meaning: "Wing" "Strange" = "Strange wing"

pronunciation: Yee chee

What: a scansoriopterygid (climbing/gliding maniraptoran dinosaurs) theropod

When: Middle-Upper Jurassic

Where: Tiaojishan Formation in the Hebei Province in China

Fun fact!: Yi qi is the shortest binomial of any extinct animal discovered so far, sharing this status (ironically) with the extant Ia io, the great evening bat.

P.F. (personal flex) Fun fact!: One of the authors on the original paper describing the discovery of Yi qi was my undergraduate thesis supervisor.

Why are they cool?: When you think of birds you think feathers and Yi qi certain had those, but what sets this funky little lad apart from other maniraptorians of this time were the long rods of bone protruding from its wrists that supported membranous tissue not unlike the wings of a bat.

Here is a link to the original paper describing Yi qi if anyone is interested in learning more!

And just for fun cause she's super cool, here is a link to another of the paper's famous authers, Jingmai O'Connor's website, the punk rock palaeontologist!

Image Credits: (Left: Emily Willoughby, Right: Figure 2. Xu, Xing, Xiaoting Zheng, Corwin Sullivan, Xiaoli Wang, Lida Xing, Yan Wang, Xiaomei Zhang, Jingmai K. O’Connor, Fucheng Zhang, and Yanhong Pan. "A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran theropod with preserved evidence of membranous wings." Nature 521, no. 7550 (2015): 70-73.)

[cozylittleartblog]

happy halloween 🎃

(this design is available in my etsy as a sticker, and on my redbubble & teepublic on A Bunch Of Stuff!)

[pikayuarts]

So I did an Animal Sketchtember challenge through the last month to help break me outta my slump and these are my favorites.

[thepineconelord]

saddest thing to me about batman inc is that they legitimately have such a cool cast of characters and like just either do nothing with them or like white-wash/disrespect them.

[dailydccomics]

Super-Man and the Justice League of China by Philip Tan

[art-soboro]

alittle tachibana-shaped beast

[zal-cryptid]

DC characters - Bat-Man of China

[kelawar-ungu]

Bat Week 2020: A Celebration of Bats in Asia-Pacific Cultures Art by Reimena Yee.

(Bigger image from here for more readable text. The background colouring is a little too bright though)

Text on the map under the cut.

You may have heard the soft flutter of bat wings at dusk, noticed them flitting around at night, or even seen them sleeping under roof eaves, in trees and caves during the day. But apart from these brief encounters, have you ever wondered how bats may have traditionally held deeper symbolic meaning in various cultures?

This visual map guide celebrates the many positive bat symbols and folklore found across the Asia-Pacific region. Our ancestors recognised the importance and wonder of bats!

Look out for our full write-up and get updates by following rimba.ngo!

Project Pteropus, a project under RIMBA.

India

In India, Hindu devotees of the goddess Kali worship and protect flying foxes which roost in sacred groves. Bats also feature as symbols of love in Tamil Sangam poetry, dating back more than 2000 years!

China / Taiwan / Chinese culture

A tale from ancient China: The gods took pity on Zhong Kui when he committed suicide. They named him King of Ghosts and tasked him to discipline demons, with bats acting as his helpers who scout out demons for him to vanquish.

In Chinese opera, the Zhong Kui character wears a bat motif on his mask.

The Five Blessings (五福 wŭfú) in Chinese culture are health, wealth, longevity, love of virtue and peaceful death. They are represented symbolically by five bats (五蝠 wŭfú).

In traditional Chinese culture, bats are lucky symbols because the word for bat (蝠 fú) sounds like the word for blessing (福 fú).

Lucky bat motifs can be found on traditional ceramics, jewellery and textiles in Chinese, Peranakan and other Chinese-influenced communities across East and Southeast Asia.

Vietnam

Locals believe that flying foxes roosting in the Wat Mahatup temple grounds in Vietnam are calling forth blessings from Buddha when they circle the temple during their fly-out every evening.

Malaysia / Indonesia

The indigenous Mah Meri in Peninsular Malaysia perform a traditional dance called 'kuang kuwait', mimicking the graceful movements of flying foxes.

The 'siku keluang' a choreography step in the traditional Malay Zapin dance represents humility and restraint - inspired by the flying fox wrapping up its mighty wings' strength when not in flight.

The 'siku keluang', meaning flying fox elbow in the Malay language, is a zigzag, chevron or herringbone motif used in Malay and Javanese traditional textiles and pottery.

According to a traditional Iban belief from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, bats act as shamanic messengers to the upper-world during the Gawai harvest festival.

The indigenous Iban in Sarawak traditionally featured the flying fox, locally known as 'semawa', as a tattoo motif.

Papua New Guinea / Western New Guinea

In Bowi folklore of Papua New Guinea, Kinjinmbunduo was a mythical giant flying fox female spirit who left thunderstorms and strong winds in her wake, striking terror and awe but also replenishing the river basin with fruit trees by dispersing seeds during her nocturnal visits.

In New Guinea and Papua New Guinea, the indigenous Asmat and Trobriand carved out flying fox motifs on their war shields to represent triumphant head-hunters.

Samoa

Flying foxes are perceived as protectors and saviours in Samoan folklore. According to legend, Samoan Princess Leutogi befriended and warned flying foxes about the king's hunting plans. In return, the bats rescued her from being burned alive and also brought her food when she was stranded on an inhospitable island. She later bestowed the name "Tonumaipe'a" on her son, meaning "rescued by flying foxes".

For Samoan men, the pe'a—the local name for flying fox is a coming-of-age tattoo that extends From the waist to the knee, symbolising protection over a warrior.

The Samoan war god Sepo took the form of a flying fox to guide his people in battle. If they saw a flying fox ahead, it meant victory would be theirs; if it flew back towards them it was a warning to retreat.

Australia

Flying foxes were important animals to the Aboriginal people of Cape York, Australia, and a common feature in their prehistoric rock art.

Folklore of the Aboriginal Wik in Australia tells of two brothers who broke taboo by spearing and cooking flying foxes. The bats escaped and carried the boys up into the sky as punishment, leaving them there to serve as a grim reminder now immortalised in the Gemini constellation!

Link to open access article of the research:

[celticcatgirl2]

“…I’ll buy you another toy just like it at FYE calm down…”

[hazeltailofficial]

HALLOWEEN FLASHBACK

China Glaze Nail Lacquer Bat My Eyes

hazeltail on youtube / hazeltailofficial on tiktok / hazeltailofficial on ig / @hazeltailofficial