As part of the Biology of Bats and Other Mammals class, students create memes and cartoons about bats. We hope you laugh and learn!
Many people do not know the diversity of bats, and particularly how many mammal species are bats. Author: Chiara Whitehurst, 2024
A common misconception. No! Bats are not rodents — in fact, humans are more closely related to rodents than bats are.
Bats have abnormally long lives for their body weights. This is an area of active study. Some theories around the source of this longevity include the low immune response to hosting pathogens and stable DNA methylation rates throughout their lives. Author: Chiara Whitehurst, 2024
Bats don’t actually live forever but some do have unusually long lives!
Bats are just better than girlfriends (when it comes to certain things). Namely, bats tend to be smaller than people, enjoy roosting in caves and trees, and are social animals that get along with members of their species. Author: Lydia Benson, 2024
For years researchers thought that bats, which use echolocation for orientation and collision avoidance, never collided. Turns out this isn’t true. Bats have been found to frequently crash into each other midair particularly when emerging from roost sites. Author: Chiara Whitehurst, 2024
Phyllostomidae is one of the most diverse bat families on the planet and have experienced an incredible adaptive radiation. They are particularly diversified in diets, which they have achieved through specified skull shapes. Author: Chiara Whitehurst, 2024
Bats just gotta eat it all. Author: Farren Lamarsh, 2026
Some tropical bats need to roost in hot caves. This researcher will pass. Author: Juliet Boyd, 2026
Bats seem to be particularly good at tolerating infections without immune overreaction. Humans less so. Author: Maddie Castro, 2026
Moths don’t love being found by hunting bats. Relatable. Author: Ben Pethe, 2026
We “mustache” you a question. Are you aware that there are two bat families (Thyropteridae and Myzopodidae) that have suction cups on their wrists and ankles? Author: Farren Lamarsh, 2026
It’s true, not all bats echolocate! Pteropodids do just fine with their eyes! Author: Juliet Boyd, 2026
Bats >> superman. We can’t disagree. Author: Maddie Castro, 2026
It’s true, Gru. An early bat scientist, Lazarro Spallanzani, studied bat echolocation in bats through a variety of methods including plugging their ears with wax to test that they were navigating through an auditory sense rather than sight, smell, etc. Author: Chiara Whitehurst, 2024
Fruit bats don’t consume all the pulp because it weighs them down. Instead they eat the sugary juice and spit the pulp on the ground. Pulp with saliva has the potential to infect other animals that consume and come in direct contact with it. Author: Chiara Whitehurst, 2024
It’s true. Pd, the fungus that causes white nose syndrome is psychrophilic which means “cold-loving”. Author: Sophia Finkbeiner, 2026
So scary. Author: Gianna Costa, 2026
Many bat species live a long time for their body size. Sorry, mouse. Author: Brant Ballantyne, 2026
A Twilight meme: It was inevitable. Dr. Frank has taken a passionate interest in a category of mammal that often is overlooked. While she may appreciate their natural beauty, many bats have endured hateful and spiteful words for so long that they have a negative perception of themselves. Bat skin is rich in elastin so that they can easily maneuver in flight, conforming their wings to fly around potential obstacles or in interesting directions, such as upside-down. Their conformity often is useful during feeding, thus gifting them the “skin of a killer.” Author: Lydia Benson, 2024
Holy taxonomy, Batman! Author: Maya Busche, 2026
Vampire bats keep that blood flowing with specialized enzymes in their saliva including draculin! Author: Maya Busche, 2026
Whatever works, Drake. Author: Brant Ballantyne, 2026
Vampire bats have specialized kidneys to drink their meals and pee out the excess liquid so they can fly again. Very impressive. Author: Chloe Lebovitch, 2026
lol indeed. Author: Ben Pethe, 2026
The French word for bat is "chauve souris" which technically means bald mouse. This cartoon explains why "bald mouse" is not biologically accurate, and ends with a more "accurate" name the French could have given bats (flying whale). Bats having hair is mentioned, as well as the evolutionary distance between mice and bats. [Bats are more closely related to whales than they are to rodents!] Additionally the ability of bats to echolocate and fly compared to humans and mice is brought up. Author: Siena Paxman, 2024
A twist on a classic meme… The bat’s echolocation, which it uses to feed, is far more meaningful and impactful than Nicki Minaj’s foul lyrics, but their vocalizations are scorned and disparaged nonetheless. Author: Lydia Benson, 2024
Bats eat a variety of things: blood, nectar, fruit, bugs, and small vertebrates. Truly the masters of the current trend of having a “girl dinner.” Author: Lydia Benson, 2024
Although they evolved to have the same flight function, bats went about it in a much more interesting manner. Birds focused on feathers and lightness while bats honed in on flexibility and power. Author: Lydia Benson, 2024
Author: Callie Rose Chenevert, 2024
Where did bats come from? Let us know if you figure it out. Sigh. Author: Mia Meletta, 2026
Author: Callie Rose Chenevert, 2024
We think that bat immunology is pretty important but it’s not the most popular opinion. Author: Chloe Lebovitch, 2026
Vampire bats be like:
We’re not saying that bats are better than birds, but …no, that’s what we’re saying.
Author: Callie Rose Chenevert, 2024
Author: Chloe Lebovitch, 2026
Author: Callie Rose Chenevert, 2024
Iconic. Author: Gianna Costa, 2026
Constant frequency echolocators hear at a different frequency than they call at!
Author: Sophia Finkbeiner, 2026
Echolocation is a powerful tool! Author: Gianna Costa, 2026