Long bat fishing caught by camera

2010/11/25 Aulestiarte Lete, Izaro - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• 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 capaccini 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, however, the researchers have seen that this is the same thing in the field: through high-speed and infrared videos, they have been able to record the hunting activity (ultrasound of bats has also been recorded).

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 up and fish are concentrated on the surface, this resource becomes accessible and exploited.”

Image courtesy of: Joxerra Aihartza.