Long bat fishing caught by camera

2011/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

For the first time we have managed to see and record the hunting of the long bat in nature. The dietary habits of the Mediterranean species Myotis capaccinii are very curious. In Europe all bats were considered as insectivores, but during the dietary analyses of this species in 2003 it was found that the long finger was a fisherman: in their excrements appeared the vertebrae and scales of fish.

His relationship with several colleagues in Valencia allowed a group of UPV researchers to participate in this surprising discovery. Not only in Valencia, but also in Italy and Palestine. In 2005, an experiment was carried out in a cage shop in which it was demonstrated that these bats were able to catch and eat live fish. Now, researchers have seen that this is the same in their environment: through high-speed and infrared videos, they have been able to record the hunting activity.

In fact, the diet of these bats is based on surface insects. However, according to UPV-EHU researchers, there is an ecological reason to explain the behavior of fish: "When wells are drying and fish are concentrated on the surface, this resource becomes accessible and exploited."