In a (very) loose tie-in with the recent release of the Dark Knight, it’s Bat Weekend at Not Exactly Rocket Science, where I’ll be reposting a few old but relevant pieces. If you were a biologist looking for astounding innovations in nature, you could do much worse than to study bats. They are like showcases of nature’s ingenuity, possessing a massive variety of incredible adaptations that allow them to exploit the skies of the night.

They are the only mammal group capable of true flight and are one of only four groups of animals to have ever evolved the ability. As a result, they have spread across the globe and enjoyed tremendous success. Today, one in every five species of