Category: Mammals
These small, arboreal marsupials are able to glide through the air, much like flying squirrels. They inhabit northern and eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and several other nearby islands. They are named for their predilection for sugary foods, but are omnivores and can obtain nutrition from a variety of sources including insects, acacia seeds, and bird eggs.
Bats: The Only True-Flying Mammal
Bats, the only mammal capable of true flight, are not blind - their eyes are just fine, thank you very much. But instead of eyes, most bats rely on an incredibly fine-tuned sense of hearing when they fly and hunt. Using a technique called echolocation, they emit high-pitched calls (usually above the range of human hearing), using the echos that are reflected back to them as a means of navigation and locating objects. The ears, auditory cortex, and (in a few cases) even noses of some bats are extraordinarily specialized for echolocation; there are even bats that have adapted the frequency of their calls to frequencies above or below what their favorite prey can hear!
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