Wikipedia:POTD column/July 24, 2006

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Bats, by Ernst Haeckel, 1904

The 67th plate from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (1904), depicting organisms classified as Bats. They are the only mammals capable of flight, thanks to their forelimbs which are developed as wings. There are about 1,100 species of bats worldwide, which is about 20% of all mammal species. About 70 percent of bats are insectivorous. Most of the remainder feed on fruits and their juices, but some prey on vertebrates.

Illustration credit: Ernst Haeckel
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