🦇 Any guesses about how the big-eared woolly bat (Chrotopterus auritus) got its name? With a wingspan of over 1.5 feet (0.5 m), this critter is one of the largest bats in the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Argentina. Scientists think it uses its oversized ears for echolocation, emitting high-frequency squeaks and listening to the resulting echoes to find prey. The big-eared woolly bat is an omnivore with a taste for meat: Birds, mice, opossums, and other bats are on the menu. It typically consumes large prey from the head down, and can take up to 20 hours to finish a single meal!

Photo: edward137, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist
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