Thursday, April 22, 2010

A Nosy Bat Indeed



In my last post, I explained how the long-nosed bats are found along waterways. That is certainly the case ... and you must be wondering what they are doing in the photo above. Yes, a harem of long-nosed bats has chosen the inside of the umbrella on the floating deck at Laguna Seca as their roost site! You can see them here, roosting in their characteristic head down position, their wings at a 45-degree angle.

You can also see their little noses angled up, the source of their scientific name, Rhychonycteris naso, a combination of the Greek words "rhynchos" and "nykteris" meaning "nose" or "snout" and "bat." The species name, "nasus," also refers to the nose, clearly a defining characteristic of these little creatures.

While these long-nosed bats are hardly cryptic (that is, blending in) with their surroundings, you've got to admit, they've chosen a well protected spot to roost!

4 comments:

  1. This is really a striking photo. It plays a trick with the scale, making the scene look really big and cavernous.

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  2. It's interesting to me that they've chosen to roost on something such a brilliant white. And while the white reflects light, it would seem as though it is sort of hot in there too.

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