Bat

A bat is a mammal whose forelimbs form wings, enabling powered flight. Many species use echolocation to navigate and find food.

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Bat wing: A bat’s flight surface, formed by a skin membrane stretched across elongated fingers and other limb bones. Elongated fingers support the flexible membrane that gives bat wings their shape and control.
Mammalia: The class of vertebrates characterized by features including hair and milk-producing mammary glands. Bats are mammals despite their ability to fly.
Insectivory: A feeding strategy in which animals consume insects as a major part of their diet. Many bats catch insects in flight, helping shape nighttime insect populations.
Vampire bat: A bat in the subfamily Desmodontinae that feeds on the blood of other vertebrates. Vampire bats are a specialized example of the varied diets found within Chiroptera.
Bird flight: Powered flight in birds, driven by feathered wings supported by the forelimbs. Birds fly with feathered wings, while bats use membranes stretched across elongated fingers.
Echolocation: A biological sensing method in which an animal interprets returning echoes from sounds it produces. Many bats use echoes from their calls to detect obstacles and locate prey.
Chiroptera: The mammalian order containing all bats, including fruit-eating and insect-eating species. This is the taxonomic group that unites every living bat.
Pollination: The transfer of pollen from a flower’s anther to a receptive stigma. Nectar-feeding bats pollinate plants whose flowers open at night.
Flying fox: A large fruit bat in the genus Pteropus, native to parts of Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Flying foxes illustrate the fruit-eating, often visually guided side of bat diversity.
Pterosaur: An extinct group of flying reptiles whose wings were supported chiefly by an elongated fourth finger. Pterosaurs evolved powered flight independently of bats and birds.