Re: exception to body size/reproductive capacity etc. argument -Reply

[Betty Cunningham <bettyc@flyinggoat.com>]

The bat in question was (I beleive) a Mexican Freetail, which tend to be
in torpor from December through March in our warmer California
temperatures.   Pretty incredible little bat- "Mexican free-tailed bats
sometimes fly up to two miles high to feed or to catch tail-winds that
carry them over long distances at speeds of more than 60 miles per
hour."

The Bat Conservation International bat trivia page
(http://www.batcon.org/trivia.html ) refers to a Little Brown bat living
32 years.  "The common little brown bat of North America is the world's
longest lived mammal for its size, with life-spans sometimes exceeding
32 years"

There are nearly 1,000 species of bats, and lifespans are not known for
most of them.

-Betty Cunningham

JAMES SUTTON wrote:
> Wiwaxia:
> Interesting, how much of this bat's life cycle is spent in torpor?