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THE MAMMALS 



Order — Chiroptera 



This order includes the bats, which are the only flying mammals. We 

 speak of flying squirrels, but they only glide. The finger bones of the 

 last three fingers of each hand are greatly elongated and skin is stretched 



between the fingers to form the wings. 



The first two fingers terminate 



Photo by Winchester 



Fig. 28.8. A bat. The skin is stretched between the bones of the fingers to form 

 wings. The first two fingers terminate in claws which are used to suspend the animal 



while it is sleeping during the day. 



in claws which the bats use to suspend themselves upside down while 

 they are sleeping during the daytime. Bats come out at dusk and fly 

 around during the night in search of insects. It is an amazing sight to 

 see the bats come circling up out of Carlsbad Caverns by the thousands 

 every evening. Bats orient themselves and avoid collisions with trees, 

 buildings and other objects by giving out shrill cries that are higher in 

 pitch than the human ear can hear. As the echoes of their cries come 



