Bat Classification
Bats belong to the:
Kingdom Animalia
The Animalia is the largest of the 5 kingdoms, comprised of over 1,000,000 species. This kingdom encompasses multicellular, eukaryotic organisms that have their own means of locomotion. Included in this kingdom are birds, sponges, fish, and people.
Phylum Chordata
The phylum chordata is a group of bilaterally symmetrical animals that have a notochord during at least one phase of development. Chordates include birds, fish, reptiles and mammals.
Class Mammalia
Mammals are hairy, warm-blooded, milk-producing animals.
Group Eutheria
This is one of the three groups of living mammals. Eutherian mammals are also known as placental mammals, because they give birth to live young, which are nourished before birth in the mother's placenta. This group includes insectivores, rodents and primates.
Order Chiroptera
Bats! These are the only flying mammals. With nearly 1,000 species, bats account for approximately one quarter of all living mammalian species.
Bats are divided into two different Taxa:
Microchiroptera
Microchiroptera in general navigate by echolocation. They usually have short faces, well-developed tails, and do not have a claw on their second finger. These bats live all over the earth except for the polar regions.
Megachiroptera
Megachiroptera are "fruit-bats" and "flying foxes" that generally navigate by sight (although a few use echolocation). In contrast to Microchiroptera, these bats have a longer face, and a claw on their second finger. They live in the tropical forests of India, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
