Description

By (author) Taylor Marianne; Foreword by Tuttle, Merlin D.

Short /annotation

Bats: An Illustrated Guide to All Species looks in detail at the more than 1,300 species known today.

“Meshing deft scientific text with Tuttle’s sumptuous images, it’s a superb introduction to the baroque morphologies and flying prowess of these beguiling beasts.”
– Nature

Bats: An Illustrated Guide to All Species
looks in detail at the more than 1,300 species known today.

Nocturnal, fast-flying and secretive, they are
endlessly fascinating, yet extremely difficult to observe and catalogue. The
diversity of bats is both rich and underestimated and the
threats they face from humans are very real. This guide
illuminates the world of bats and
reveals their true nature as intelligent, social and deeply misunderstood creatures.

This
extravagantly illustrated handbook features the work of
famed nature photographer Merlin D. Tuttle and
in-depth profiles of 288 bats, from the Large Flying Fox, which has a wingspan of more than five feet, to the Bumblebee Bat, contender for the world’s smallest mammal. Bats includes
close-up images of these animals’ delicate and intricate forms and faces, each shaped by evolution to meet the demands of an extraordinarily specialized life, and a
thorough introduction which
explores their natural history and unique adaptations to life on the wing.

If you like this you might also be interested in Owls by Marianne Taylor . . .

Table of contents

Foreword
6

Introduction
8

Bat Research 10

What is a Bat? 12

Evolution 16

Diversity 19

Biology 22

Behavior 30

Ecology 44

Bats & People 48

About this Book 57

Yangochiroptera accounts 58
Myzopodidae • Emballonuridae • Nycteridae • Furipteridae • Mormoopidae • Mystacinidae • Natalidae • Noctilionidae • Phyllostomidae • Thyropteridae • Cistugidae • Miniopteridae • Molossidae • Vespertilionidae

Yinpterochiroptera accounts 298
Pteropodidae • Craseonycteridae • Hipposideridae • Megadermatidae • Rhinolophidae • Rhinonycteridae • Rhinopomatidae

Index of Scientific Names388

Index of Common Names397

Acknowledgments & Biographies400

Biographical note

Marianne Taylor worked for seven years in natural history publishing, first at Bloomsbury and later at Birdwatch magazine, before becoming a writer. She has written more than twenty books for adults and children on a range of natural history subjects; her books include Bats, Owls, Hummingbirds (Ivy Press), the RSPB”s British Birds of Prey, (A&C Black), Dragonflight (Bloomsbury), and The Nature Book (Michael O’Mara).

Merlin D. Tuttle is an ecologist, wildlife photographer and conservationist who has studied bats and championed their preservation for half a century. He is known globally through his scientific discoveries, popular articles and beautiful photographs of bats. His work has been featured in expositions from Harvard University to the British Museum and in numerous feature articles that include the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and National Geographic. He currently directs Merlin Tuttle”s Bat Conservation, which he founded after retiring from leading Bat Conservation International for 30 years.

Feature
300 bat species photographed and illustrated to capture their individual features

Feature
Includes information specifics for all 1,300 species