Meet The Hammer-Headed Bat, The African Megabat That’s Been Dubbed One Of The World’s Ugliest Creatures
The Sweet Life Of Africa’s Hammer-Headed Fruit Bat
With wingspans of up to 38 inches and weighing in at around a pound, the hammer-headed bat is Africa’s largest bat, according to Bat Conservation International. It’s also the most sexually dimorphic bat species in the world.
The average female weighs eight ounces and doesn’t appear all that different from other fruit bats. Males, however, grow much larger and have faces that clearly set them apart. Their larynx and rostrum are enlarged, creating a resonating chamber that makes it easier for them to create the loud honking noises that attract the females.The bats have been spotted from Senegal in Western Africa to northern Angola, nearly 3,000 miles to the southeast. They thrive in the moist, tropical forests surrounding Equatorial Africa’s lowlands, swamps, and rivers.
Hammer-headed bats feast on the fruit that grows in the area, including figs, bananas, guavas, and mangos, making them frugivores. Because of their all-fruit diet, they’re considered a pest by many African farmers, who eliminate them when necessary to save their crops.
But farmers aren’t the only people who hunt down these distinctive creatures.
With wingspans of up to 38 inches and weighing in at around a pound, the hammer-headed bat is Africa’s largest bat, according to Bat Conservation International. It’s also the most sexually dimorphic bat species in the world.
The average female weighs eight ounces and doesn’t appear all that different from other fruit bats. Males, however, grow much larger and have faces that clearly set them apart. Their larynx and rostrum are enlarged, creating a resonating chamber that makes it easier for them to create the loud honking noises that attract the females.The bats have been spotted from Senegal in Western Africa to northern Angola, nearly 3,000 miles to the southeast. They thrive in the moist, tropical forests surrounding Equatorial Africa’s lowlands, swamps, and rivers.
Hammer-headed bats feast on the fruit that grows in the area, including figs, bananas, guavas, and mangos, making them frugivores. Because of their all-fruit diet, they’re considered a pest by many African farmers, who eliminate them when necessary to save their crops.
But farmers aren’t the only people who hunt down these distinctive creatures.
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22 February 2023
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