Bat

A bat in Todeum

A vampiric bat transformation

Bat, giant

Bats, flight has enabled bats to become one of the most widely distributed groups of mammals. Apart from the high Arctic, the Antarctic and a few isolated oceanic islands, bats exist in almost every habitat on Earth.

Description

• After rodents, Bats are the second largest order of mammals, with bats comprise about 20% of all classified mammal species worldwide, with over 1,200 species.
• Head and teeth shape of bats vary by species. Small insect-eating bats can have as many as 38 teeth, while vampire bats have only 20.
• The smallest bat is the Kitti's hog-nosed bat, which is 29–34 mm (1.14–1.34 in) in length, 15 cm (5.91 in) across the wings and 2–2.6 g (0.07–0.09 oz) in mass. The largest bats are the flying foxes and the giant golden-crowned flying fox, which can weigh 1.6 kg (4 lb) and have a wingspan of 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in).
• Same as for the Wolf, AI obviously based its various game model bat on those real mammals to develop new type of computer generated monsters.

Bat Information

• Swift and powerful flying
  • Bats are mammals and their forelimbs are adapted as wings. As such, they are the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. Also, bats are more manoeuvrable than birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane. Due to their flexible joints, bats are more manoeuvrable and more dexterous. Some bats subspecies can even hover, in a similar way to hummingbirds. The fastest bat, the Mexican free-tailed bat, can achieve a ground speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).
  • Bats possess a highly adapted respiratory and circulatory system to cope with the demands of powered flight. Because of the restraints of the mammalian lungs, bats cannot maintain high-altitude flight. Compared to a mammal of the same relative size, the bat's heart can be up to three times larger.
• Echolocation
  • Some bats subspecies have cranial adaptations to enhance their ability to detect ultrasound. Echolocation probably first derived in bats from communicative calls. This can also be used to forage on the ground, map out their surroundings while gliding, navigation purpose or target their prey.
• Roosting
  • Tendons allow bats to lock their feet closed when hanging from a roost. Muscular power is only needed to let go, but not to grasp or when holding on. Different species select different habitats during different seasons, ranging from seasides to mountains and deserts, but they require suitable roosts. Bat roosts can be found in hollows, crevices, foliage, and even human-made structures, and include "tents" the bats construct with leaves.
• Hibernation
  • During hibernation, bats enter a torpid state and decrease their body temperature for 99.6% of their hibernation period.

Trivia

• Todeum swarms
  • Todeum is litterally plagued with random swarms of bats or rodents , even in the swamps area; especially since the Vampire race has a strong affinity with bats. The kingdom is nurturing millions of bats.
• More to be found on Wikipedia.