 |
 |
|
|
Chiroptera What is a chiropteran? Chiropteran is another name for bat. The name comes from two ancient Greek words: CHIRO (hand) and PTERON (wing). This means that bats fly with their hands. The same bones If you compared the bones in a bat’s wing with those in a human arm, you would see that the tip of the bat’s wing is actually very much like a hand. Except for the thumb, the metacarpal and phalangeal bones on the other four fingers are elongated. A membrane made of two layers of skin, blood vessels and muscle fibres covers the entire wing skeleton. The same bones If you look closely at a bird’s wing, you’ll see that the metacarpi and phalanges are much shorter, and even fused. Birds fly with their “arms” more than their “hands.” To fly, a bat doesn’t beat its wings up and down as most birds do, but rather moves them as you would move your arms when swimming the butterfly stroke. Not just for flying Bats’ wings have several functions. They use them for flying, of course. Not just for flying They also use them to keep themselves warm. Not just for flying And to cool themselves off, as well.
For more information: |
|