Ever Seen a Bat Running?

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Well, I hadn't. Till now!

And it looks super creepy and weird:

Yep, that's a bat on a treadmill ๐Ÿ˜„

Now, here comes the interesting part. After doing a bit of digging, the video comes from this scientific paper.

As it explains, bats have become so specialized for flight that they have pretty much lost the ability to manoeuvre on their feet, let alone run.

However, the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) which often sneaks up on their prey on the ground, is an exception to the rule as they have evolved to use their forelimbs (instead of the hindlimbs) to run in a unique fashion.

From what we know, this is the only bat species to exhibit this trait and it evolved from a bat ancestor who had previously lost the ability to walk.

The absence of a running gait in all other bat species so far surveyed indicates that running may have been lost early in the evolution of bats, evolving afresh in the vampires at a later time.

Much like sea mammals that evolved from land mammals that evolved from an ancestor that originally lived in the sea!

Funny how evolution works over millions and millions of years, abandoning certain traits only to revisit them later on when the proper circumstances arise :)

Posted Using InLeo Alpha



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46 comments
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Man I'm Glad Bat size isn't Size

When bat walk they look exactly like creatures that comes in nightmare.

Though still creepy when they fly over your head out of nowhere.

!PIZZA

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I have never seen a bat running. However, I live near a nature reserve and I have been lucky to experience a bat flying very close to me, they fly like maniacs too. It was such an awesome site and quite rare. I felt very privileged to get that close to a bat.

The only other time since living here I have seen a bat was when I was lying in bed trying to get to sleep one night and it was very late and one flew past the window. They are just amazing creatures, I have such awe for them.

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I had a cat bringing them by the tons, other than that no close ups for me ๐Ÿ˜‚

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Wow, that was a first for me lol....that thing was galloping!

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untitled.gif

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He's so cute! Bats don't creep me out and in fact I have some on my property that head out at dusk, though I never see them return. Skeeter eaters :D

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Have you seen this? ๐Ÿ˜„

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Aww...little burritos <3 <3 I hadn't seen this before!

The little side eye really got to me lol

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ow!
Is this a baby rat rescue film?
I didn't know there was a demand for bat breeders
The world is a diverse place with a whole lot of stuff going on...

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It runs like an ape. Soon that thing will be walking upright, and living in castles.

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Lol, that would be a sight to behold ๐Ÿ˜‚

!pimp

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And wearing purple velvet??
LOL
:)

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Ever wonder where your blood really goes, when you donate?

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LOL

Yeah... where do you think it goes??

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Dracula Inc.

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That is funny! It looks like some alien creature running! Interesting tid bit about the vampire bat, I used to see them flying around when I lived in the Caribbean.

Evolution does some weird shit that's for sure!

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Yep, that's a bat on a treadmill

I don't know what's weirder...the bat hopping along or the humans that put him on a treadmill๐Ÿ˜‚

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Humans are interesting creatures ๐Ÿ˜‚

!pimp

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Evolution rocks! Bats are very cool and amazing animals โ€ฆ we went somewhere around here and made a โ€œbat walk" in the evening to see bats around heheh.

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It's interesting to see a bat run. I know that I have seen bats kind of walk a few times in games but I didn't know if they did so in real life.

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This was both creepy and funny.

Leave it to you to find something unusual like this.

Your posts are the ultimate diverse subject matter; from silver coins, to memes, to contests for funny tokens, I never know what I will get when I read your posts.

Thanks for keeping us guessing.

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