Many people have heard the saying “blind as a bat.” What many do not know is that all 1,100 species of bats actually have pretty good vision. Bats likely received this misleading association by not having as keen of vision as other night-hunting animals.
There are two main groups of bats. The Megachiroptera group of bats hunts fruits, nectar, and sometimes small animals or fish. This group has good vision and can see in color. They are, however, unable to fly during moonless nights since they rely on their daylight vision.
The second group, Microchiroptera, makes up about 70% of all bats. This group uses echolocation for navigation and food identification. Scientists have found that these “micro bats” do have both rod and cone photoreceptor vision cells in their eyes, though the rods are poorly developed. Rods are the cells responsible for night vision, thus establishing the need for the echolocation these night hunters rely upon to help while hunting in the dark.
Interested in teaching your students more about bats? Check out SSR's Vol 41 DVD, episode: Ecology - Bats: Creatures of the Night.
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