Category: Mammals
This species is a rare “mega-bat,” one of the largest species of bats in the world. They are herbivores with a keen sense of sight and smell for finding food – with the exception of one species, they do not use echolocation. They roost mostly in trees and shrubs and are sometimes unpopular with orchard owners due to their fruit-eating ways. Fruit-eating bats such as these aid in the distribution of plants by spreading their seeds as well as serving as pollinators.
A 200 Million Year-old Iconoclast
If a defining trait of mammals is that they give live birth to their young, how do you explain monotremes? Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs like a reptile, rather than giving birth to live young. Living examples of these unusual animals can only be found in Australia and New Guinea today, though they used to be more widespread. A monotreme egg has less yolk for supplying nutrients than a reptile egg, and when a young echidna or platypus hatches, it is very tiny and less developed than its reptile counterpart. But monotreme babies are able to grow and thrive because their mothers stay with them, lactating to supply vital nutrients for their growth - just like other mammals!
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