Where Did Bats Come From? Ancestors and Descent Lines

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In summary, Robert Zaleski links bats and primates to share a common shrew-like ancestor, but they belong to different groups.
  • #1
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I was just thinking about bats, and I have a question: Where did they come from?!

I can think of no animals that are even close to being related to the bat (except perhaps certain rodents (the bat is not a rodent, btw), like mice), and there are no other flying mammals, so they seem to be something of a unique case.

Anyway, I would appreciate it if someone could show the line (or, at least, possible lines) of descent toward bats.
 
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  • #2
I'd imagine it'd be from gliding mammals. Like flying squirrells and whatnot.
 
  • #3
I'd have to say squirrels too, at least it has to be a mammal of some kind, a gliding squirrel comes very close I guess..
 
  • #4
Well, CSF and Monique, you're probably right (since the gliding squirrel has evolved the membranes for gliding, which could possibly have evolved into fully functional wings), but these are two very different species. Are there any intermediaries between the two (perhaps) that you can think of?
 
  • #5
What are those evolutionary trees called to depict evolutionary routes? Philogenetic? If I spelled it correctly, then there is no information on Google about it in relation to bats :)
 
  • #6
Here the phylogenetic tree

http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Eutheria&contgroup=Mammalia

Squirrels and mice are both related to each other with beaver and other rodent. Bat are actually on the same lineage as primates and bat have a common ancestor with "flying lemur" but they are not lemur and they glide.
 
  • #7
Link indicates bats and primates share a common shrew-like ancestor, but belong to different groups.

http://www.batcon.org/discover/species/naturalhistory.html [Broken]
 
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  • #8
Originally posted by Robert Zaleski
Link indicates bats and primates share a common shrew-like ancestor, but belong to different groups.

http://www.batcon.org/discover/species/naturalhistory.html [Broken]

Very interesting stuff, Robert. Thanks for the link.

So, the Chiroptera could be considered primates? Just how smart are they, when compared to (other) primates?
 
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  • #9
Not primates, not even simians, but we both descend from those little insectivore beasties, back in the eocene, or was it the palaeocene? IIRC Linnaeus spotted the kinship back in his original book. Probably because our digits, in spite of obvious specialization, are still close to the primitive stage. Our thumbs and feet, and their wings, are really very small adaptations of five fingered paws.
 
  • #10
Interesting to see from iansmith's link that bats are more closely related to primates than to mice/squirrels/etc. as initially suspected. At least, that's the implication I get from that simplified diagram. Perhaps the actual ancestral history is a bit more complex.
 

1. Where did bats originate from?

Bats are believed to have originated from a group of small, insect-eating mammals known as chiropterans. These mammals lived around 50 million years ago and were most likely the common ancestors of both bats and primates.

2. Are bats closely related to other mammals?

Yes, bats are closely related to other mammals, including primates, rodents, and shrews. Despite their unique physical characteristics, bats are still classified as mammals and share many common traits with other members of this class.

3. How did bats evolve into flying creatures?

The evolution of bats' ability to fly is still a topic of debate among scientists. Some theories suggest that bats evolved from gliding ancestors, while others propose that they developed flight through a process of natural selection and adaptation.

4. What is the oldest known bat species?

The oldest known bat species is Onychonycteris finneyi, which lived about 52 million years ago. This species had small wings and could likely glide, but it lacked the specialized flight adaptations seen in modern bats.

5. Do bats have any living relatives?

Yes, bats have living relatives, including other species of chiropterans, such as flying foxes and fruit bats. They also share a common ancestor with other mammals, making them distant relatives of animals like cats, dogs, and whales.

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