Blainville's chin leaf: eyes have moved to ears. And the face turned into a complex radar (10 photos)

She decided to give a candid interview to reveal the secret: what is hidden behind her folds!





Do you want to tell me something? By the way, where are you?

— Thanks for the compliment! Usually, we are considered not very attractive... We first met people two centuries ago. You don't often look into the caves of Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica. But when biologists visited us, we greeted them with bread and salt, and they called us "bogeymen"! And it would be fine if they just called each other names and forgot about it. They even put it in the species name! My friends and I decided to figure out our Latin name, and it turned out that it literally translates as "terrible view"! Well, thank you!



I'm not scary! It's just that the angle in all the photos is bad!

— Yeah, that's not very friendly of us...

— Of course! I don't understand what they were afraid of! I don't have any strange food - like all normal bats, I fly out at night to hunt, eat insects. And I'm quite small.

— It's true, Mrs. Chin Leaf, you're extremely tiny! The reference book says that your body length is 9 centimeters and your weight is 11 grams. From a purely layman's point of view, you're even smaller than a sparrow!





These mice are so light that they can even get tangled in spider webs!

— Maybe we're not quite right? To be honest, I can't see it... I can barely see anything: my eyes are set too deep... Scientists once dug up a couple of bones — it's both funny and sad. It turns out we look like some kind of pugs! I don't know what they are, but I hope they're cute!

— Yes, people really love pugs. But tell me, how do you navigate in space if you can't see almost anything?

— Like my other relatives — with the help of echolocation.



You can tell right away that she listens to you very carefully.

— Scientists say you have no equal in this!

— Oh, you flatter me! Of course, I'm doing well, but other species of bats didn't evolve yesterday either. Besides, there's something I can't do. Most of my relatives make ultrasound through both their mouths and noses. It's not difficult: try mooing with your mouth closed. Does it work? They do about the same thing, only hundreds of times louder. Unfortunately, I can't do that - our entire family can only make sounds with their mouths open.



If you haven't seen the eyes of chin-spotters before, that's how it was meant to be. Because their eyes have moved to their ears!

By the way, the way different bats make sounds also differs. Some click their tongues, others use their vocal cords, and others can do both. Here I am also in trouble - I can only strain my ligaments, which over time causes the cartilage of the larynx to turn into bone. Oh, well, I wanted fame, but what happens now - I'm not the best? It's a shame...



*Something on an aggressive ultrasound*

- Don't be upset! They tell us here that everyone is interested - why do you have so many folds on your face?

- All these folds and skin growths are part of the echolocation mechanism. When I scream, they send ultrasonic screams in the right direction. And when I listen, the growths collect the reflected sound waves and direct them straight to the ears. In my business, every millimeter counts: finding and catching a moth in the pitch-black night among branches and leaves is a very difficult task.



Turn your head like this, and your neck won't hurt!

— By the way, tell us how your hunt goes?

— Most often, like all other bats, I catch insects on the fly. But for especially large prey, I have a special tool - a net! We have grown an additional membrane between our hind legs. When I sense that the catch will be big, I fly up and grab the bug right into my bag! True, eating in the air is not very convenient. Have to go back to the cave. On my most productive nights I can have more than 5 flights!



I don't see the goal, I don't see the obstacles!

— You mentioned that you live in a cave. You must be very lonely?

— What are you saying, not at all! We live in large colonies. In my company alone, there are several thousand acquaintances! Together, we go hunting and settle down for the day. Sometimes mice of other species fly to us. We don’t chase them away — we all live together in peace and harmony.



Dude, after 2019, it would be better if you didn’t go there.

— Probably, serious passions flare up in such companies?

— Oh yeah, especially in winter! In January, everyone goes crazy with love! We are for open relationships, and no one here condemns it. A one-night stand is normal for us. Three months later, a baby appears. But you don't have time to babysit it. Firstly, we can only bear one baby. And secondly, the baby becomes independent after a month.



I don't understand what kind of vandal hung dumplings on the wall?