#hammerheaded fruit bat

[todaysbat]

Image description: a grey bat with a strangely shaped head, puts one in mind of a mallet.

Your Daily Batty Dose!

Hammer-headed Bat

{x}

[craftingcreatures]

Alright, so I was thinking about Hammerheaded Bats (Hypsignathus monstrosa), as one does, and I just... have questions.

Obviously these things are absolutely ludicrous. The deranged-looking eyes, the goblin-esque ears, the lips that look like they got slammed in a car door a few too many times. And, of course, the gloriously fearsome schnozz. As far as creatures go this is one of the creaturey-est. 10/10. Brilliant design.

It gets better, as biology usually does. These bats are large, with a wingspan of almost a meter. Males and females display some rather extreme sexual dimorphism - the males are twice as heavy as the females, and it is only they which possess the extravagant nasal anatomy. That nose is an amplifying chamber, allowing the males to honk at their lady loves with a noise rather like a duck's quack played over a squeaky fence gate. Hammerheaded bats are the only bat species known to mate in a lekking system, in which the males all come together in one place to compete for the females' affections against each other. The males with the loudest, most obnoxious honks are the most desirable to the females.

Hammerheaded bats are one of a very few mammals known to have an XO sex determination system (For reference, humans have an XY system). This means that female bats, like humans, have two X chromosomes, but males do not have a Y-chromosome; instead, they have one X chromosome and that's it. This kind of chromosomal sex-determination is more often seen in insects like grasshoppers.

All of this is good. I love me some weird animals, and Hammerhead bats are no slouches when it comes to weirdness. But, fellas, we've only just scratched the surface when it comes to the weirdness of bat. And I do mean the surface, because the real weirdness is inside.

...

OK so there's a lot to unpack here.

First off, the larynx. It's obscenely large, three times larger in males than in females. It's half the length of the entire spinal column. It's so big that it smooshes all of the internal organs - you know, important things like the heart and lungs - all the way down into the lower abdomen. AND it's connected to air sacs in the throat that amplify the honks even further.

Like. I know why these bats are like this. I know why their honk-producing apparatus is so over-engineered and dominant that there's barely any room for anything else. Biology will do crazy things in pursuit of reproductive success. But like... they still have to live. These are bats. They're endothermic and they fly. Their oxygen consumption is through the roof. HOW do they get away with squishing their heart and lungs that much?! Is there some kind of pocket dimension where the rest of their lungs are stored?! Sir, how do you breathe?!

In conclusion, Hammerhead bats break my brain and I want to know everything about them. I love living on this planet - there's so much bonkers stuff to learn.

Info from https://caitlynfinton.com/2022/05/06/meet-the-hammer-headed-bat/

[klaunee]

[OC] Uggo the Hammer-headed Bat

[jaketeachesdeath]

The Hammerhead Fruit Bat, an impressive species without a doubt. The sexual diamorphism is incredibly noticeable too.

We spoke last time about how they are considered pest species and that honking is often the cause of that. With the decibel range and consistency of the honks its gotta get a little aggravating however, the males form what is a called a lek, a sort of group breeding display if you will. This behaviour is largely seen in birds interestingly enough.

Now because the males focus on honking so much the way they evolved is rather odd. Another name for them is the Big Lipped Bat thats due to the males facial set up for intense audio. Whilst that acoustic set up works fantastically its the internal organs we turn our attention to next.

The males internal organs seem rather displaced in comparison to the female, thats because their long larynx takes up like half of the body cavity to generate that honking display. How else could they create an impressive honk off at dusk to impress the ladies!

02/03/24

[pleistocene-pride]

Hypsignathus monstrosus better known as the hammer headed bat, horse head bat, hammer head fruit bat, big lipped bat, or hammerhead bat, is a species of megabat widely distributed in West and Central Africa, and is the only member of its genus Hypsignathus. They are a lowland species which tends to inhabit rainforests, swamps, & riverine woodlands. They are a nocturnal species which spends its days roosting in trees in groups of 4 to 25 individuals, before taking flight at sunset to search for food in the form of fruits like figs, bananas, mangos, guavas, and berries. Hammer head bats are themselves eaten by large snakes and birds of prey such as the long tailed hawk. Reaching some 7.5 to 14 inches (19 to 36cms) in body length, .5 to 1lb (230 to 450g) in weight, with a 27.2 to 38.2in (69 to 97cm) wingspan, with males being twice as heavy as females, the hammerhead bat is the largest species of bat native to continental Africa. Males and females also greatly differ in appearance, making it the most sexually dimorphic bat species. Males sport numerous adaptations to produce and amplify vocalizations such as there giant larynges and multiple large facial resonating chambers. Resulting in males having much more boxy heads, whilst females have narrower snouts and more foxlike faces. Both adult male and female bats have dark brown fur that is paler on the sides and back of the neck. The ears are triangular, and the black-brown eyes are very large. Hammerhead bats mate twice a year during the dry seasons, and are believed to be the only bat species which have a lek mating system, wherein males gather on a "lek", where they perform loud, honking vocalizations to attract females. Females visit the lek and select a male to mate with, after a 6 month pregnancy a mother hammer head bat will give birth to 1 -2 young. Under ideal conditions a female hammerhead bat will reach sexual maturity at around 9 months of age, and males at 18 months, both sexes may live up to 30 years.

[scuro-sideblog]

I didn't know where else to post this new fursona, so I'll put her right here. This is Herald the Hammer-Headed Bat (She/They). She's a spunky character with a love of mangoes and a hatred of the negative stigma surrounding bats (just like her creator in real life).

[audley-and-cherry]

Another batch of resin skulls came my way- I spent a little while this afternoon sorting and cleaning them.

Jackalopes, crows, magpies, fruit bats, hammerhead bat, ravens.

And whoever this guy is!

I'll start painting them on Monday- the goal is to make them look old and worn.

As always, if you want one to buy one of these, they're available for sale at https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackRiderIndustries

Cherry helps.

[jeena-says-hi]

Shoutout to hammerhead fruit bats

I love them

[megabat-nerd]

Some Flirty Guys ~

Chapin's Free-Tailed Bat (Chaerephon chapini)

While flirting with a female, males of this species will extrude a crest of long hairs from the head - a mohawk! These help disaperse scent. I think he's extremely handsome, doing a great job.

Minor Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus minor) Epauletted fruit bats have groups of hairs used to disperse scent and attract females. In this species, it's on the shoulders... yep, these bats have shoulderpads! They flap their wings to waft scent towards a female. They are also believed to be visually attractive.

Greater Short-Nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus sphinx) The males of this species create recesses in plant stems to contain their harem of females, and females find this very attractive; deep holes usually attract more females. I mean, if a potential partner built you a house by hand, wouldn't you be flattered too?

California Leaf-Nosed Bat (Macrotus californicus) and Hammerheaded Bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) These two bats look nothing alike and belong to completley different groups, so why have I put them together? Because they share a rare mating behaviour, lekking. During mating season, the males will form large groups and position themselves consistent distances apart in an area. From these miniature territories, the bats will perform displays to visiting females, including singing and wing displays. From these, the females can select a partner to continue courtship with. Males will fight if they enter each other's territories. This has been described as a bat 'singles bar'!

[the-crystal-femmes]

I think that edits are considered an artform, yes! At least, we consider them an artform:] /gen, pos

I have another question for you: do you have a favorite bat? Any bat at all that comes to mind? /nf, curious, genq

I love all bats, really. Maybe besides the hammerhead. But I'd say these are my favorites.

Eastern red, common vampire, Egyptian fruit, hoary, and serotine bats. Although they're also the ones that I feel the most like, as a bat ambitherian.

[bat-connoisseur]

*sees your post about wanting to infodump about bats* Uh, um... What's the most <superlative> bat that you think should be talked about more? e.g. a lot of people know about smallest/biggest bat and everyone has opinions on ugliest/cutest but what's a new superlative to talk about? Alternately, what's YOUR opinion on ugliest/cutest that might not be The Bat Everyone Knows?

thank you SO much i can answer both of these.

I would like to share some silly bats i think. the silliest bats. that is my superlative. Here, take the Eastern Tube Nosed Bat.

horrendous. fantastic. why do they look like that.

they have some beautiful yellow spotting though. VERY cool.

There's also the hammerhead bat which is infamous because they look like this

but i bring them up because its just the males that look like that. The females look normal.

(a female as far as I can tell)

I think its really fucking funny that these guys have a 50/50 chance to be born and just look really fucking silly their whole lives.

As for the ugly/cute bats, I have a lot of opinions! The first being, yes, a lot of bats are ugly as sin. But that is a plus in my eyes. The uglier the better I say, even if they kind of look like they've been chewed on. An ugly bat is a marvel of evolution, the flaps largley being for hearing real good. That being said. here's an ugly fucker.

A Francis' Wolly Horseshoe bat I think?

also a wrinkle-faced bat because fucking look at it. This one's quite cute though.

As for cute bats. Well we all know about flying foxes. yeah they're really cute and pleasent looking animals. we all know this. Same goes for most fruit bats honestly. So here.

MASTIFF BAT!!!! Cute little fella. this one's flat :)

i was only gonna put one picture but then I saw this one going :D

i also need to shoutout my favourite bat, the Common Pipistrelle. Insectivores have a reputation for being the ugly ones but its just not true!!! they're cute as hell! they're just little guys!!

I'm also a 'vampire bats are cute' truther. Look at it!!!!! They're also so fucking cool. because of how they hunt they have so many unique adaptations. They can walk and gallop alongthe ground, something most bats really struggle to do. They can take off from the ground, launching themselves in a mechanism thought to be similar to the one pterosaurs used. They are such fascinating animals! Go watch a video of one wandering around. In fact I have one for you. A personal favourite (cw for blood because it is a captive bat having a little drink out of a bowl). look at the way it moves! Its cautious little sidestep!! Bats, especially vampire bats, are demonised as monsters who'll give you horrid diseases because they're evil but that just isn't true. they're animals. they do not bite you out of spite. they don't even know what a disease is. all they know is 'drink blood' and 'hang out with bat friends in cave'.

[xlntwtch2]

wiki:

"The hammer-headed bat, also known as hammer-headed fruit bat, big-lipped bat, and hammerhead bat, is a megabat widely distributed in West and Central Africa...."

megabat for sure

hammer-headed bats are the only thing you should be thinking about

[herbs-and-spices-and-flowers]

Random Pictures! Here we go!

Drew this a few nights ago. Her name is Amber and yes, she is dead and half her face is rotted.

Here we have a drawing of a hammerhead shark. I took a picture of a hammerhead shark at a zoo once. One day I got bored, so I drew the shark.

On one side we have Sips from @dingodoodles talking with my OC, Fruit Bat. "White fur? Red marks? You must be that character written by that wannabe author who married you off to here."

On the other side we have Sister Spring who is always late and careless(spring is always late here) and Lady Winter who is responsible enough to stick around until Sister Spring arrives. This is why winter is longer than spring here. "You're late. Again"

On one side we have the serpent talking to Eve in the garden.

On the other side we have Sneeze from @dingodoodles holding three krakazyabras. Magic creatures from Ukraine.

My attempts at drawing Topa from @dingodoodles. Here we go!

"My fourth attempt at drawing you, Topa."

My fanfic story is called "Red for the Martyrs" where a group of young missionaries try to convert the winged people, but all of them get killed except for one. Topa, one of the winged people witnesses them die. But instead of panicking or crying out or even fighting back, they sang. He was almost impressed with how they were handling it.

Fruit Bat's sister, Tangerine, found a magic rock. Despite her sister's warnings, Tangerine picked it up and it transformed them.

Here is the song that the red martyrs sang.

Batshalom: "I heard there was another world that had not heard of the LORD And I saw fire light up in our eyes Now here we are at Death's dar arc I can't believe my last words are Let's sing a last Hallelujah Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah I know we heard this song before So let us write another verse And sing togeth' until we all die And I hope have some words to sing And a song the them we'll bring Let's all sing hallelujah" Everyone: "Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah"

Elihu: "Well it's been fun but we got to go We brought words so you would know That Christ loved you even when you kill us I hope that you will tell this tale So others can believe as well And that they can sing hallelujah" Everyone: "Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah"

Benshamiem: "Well every song must end But here's a hope that I will lend That Jesus takes all sinners home So with final breath The song that we will sing 'till death Will not be our last hallelujah"

Everyone: "Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah"

Everyone except Elihu: "Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah"

Everyone else except Benshamiem: "Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah"

Now Batshalom is last: "Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelu..."

Legend has it their song never ended and if you go to where you they were martyred, listen close. You might hear the faded words "hallelujah".

[jaketeachesdeath]

A wonderful birthday gift from Al's partner! A replica Hammerhead Fruit Bat!

The largest fruit Bat in Africa and honestly an oddly cool looking species displaying a great degree of sexual diamorphism.

The males as you can gather have big boxy heads but also large lips the females have a much narrower face compared to as 'foxy'. The males also have chambers on thier faces for amplifying sound, which sounds ludicrous when you consider the voice box is 3 times larger than that of the female. However these fruit Bats, honk, alot with male honking 60-120 times per minute in flight whilst claiming territory.

They are a whopping near meter long wing span, the males can weigh nearly double of the females at up to 420g in weight.

23/01/24

[drowsyirisarchive]

Now I'm suuuper curious, if you had to name some of your favorite animals (because I know how hard it is to pick just one🤭), which one would they be?👀

Okay soooo

This is going to be so ramble and all over the place but here we go. 

Sharks - thrasher, mako, black tip sharks, white tip sharks, great white. You name the shark and I love them. Recently learned about the epaulette shark and I’m also obsessed with them. Oh!! And hammerheads,, really love scalloped hammerheads. 

I love the upside down jellyfish (no long tentacles on these guys) spotted lagoon jellyfish, deep sea coronate jellyfish. 

Octopus!! Not got a favourite (although the dumbo one is 🥺) 

Rays are so graceful and pretty,, don’t really have a favourite. 

I love fish as well!! I haven’t really explored this topic that much so I don’t really know any,, there’s just so many. But I do love piranhas and flying fish. 

Love foxes and wolves. I love watching videos on YouTube because there’s a couple of channels I adore. 

Love otters, both sea and river otters. They’re so cute 🥺 and there’s just so many cool facts about them. Love seals as well - monk seals are my favourite. 

Oh!! Love crabs!! The yeti crab is my favourite (mostly because I love the idea of yetis, and bigfoot - a whole other thing I could go on and on about) I also love blue crabs. Crabs are so so fascinating and I could say so many things but let’s move on. 

Snakes!!! All time favourite. Rainbow boas, Vietnamese rat snakes, hognose snakes, green tree pythons. Could go on and on. 

Love alligators and crocodiles,, can’t pick which one I love more. 

Bears!! All types of bear, just want to give them a cuddle and ruffle their ears. Really love spectacled bears though and sun bears just because they’re so ridiculous. 

Wolverines, 6 banded armadillos, turtles and tortoises, lizards of various types (have you heard about legless lizards?? So so cool and thorny devils) 

Lynxes!! So so cute 

Love birds!! Don’t know much about them either yet but there’s just so many types. 

Love bats!! I think fruit bats might be my favourite?? 

Oh!! Frogs - don’t know much about frogs either but off the top of my head I love strawberry poison fart frogs and the rainbow frog. 

I’ve always loved ring tailed lemurs. Love bush baby’s. Love ocelots!! Oh and blue tongue skinks, and tegus!! 

Love love love bugs! Beatles especially! But there’s so many types of spider that are super pretty. Love crickets!! 

Love deers!! Can’t pick a favourite although I love spotted deers (fun fact Bambi has been a long term nickname of mine - it was even a running joke that my name should be changed to Bambi) 

Oh pumas!! And snow leopards!! I really and truly could continue on forever. I’m probably forgetting something I love. 

[toyoll]

🦇BATS🦇BATS🦇BATS🦇

I just love them all so much!! ;0;

Microbats have such charming faces (megabats also!). Their little, fuzzy nugget bodies and big ol' personalities get me every time. I very nearly became a chiroptologist, until I realized that I have nowhere near the kind of focus needed to make it through years of schooling.

Maybe not my finest composition, but definitely one I'm happy with!