The Forebrain Atlas of the Short-tailed Fruit Bat, Carollia perpicillata, is unique among brain atlases. Not only is this the first quality atlas treatment of a bat species, but the atlas is also unique in its use of NeuN staining. Carollia perpicillata, a tropical species, is the only bat that has essentially been domesticated and can be maintained and propagated in a research environment utilizing simple, inexpensive husbandry procedures. The NeuN preparations used in this atlas selectively stain neurons in a sharp black coloration that fills not only the cell body but extends a short distance along the proximal dendrites. Thus, as distinct from the traditional nissl stains, which generate a shade of blue largely restricted to the cell body, the NeuN generates a quasi Golgi-like image of the neurons. This provides a more intimate view of the neurons than can be obtained from nissl staining. In addition, the background is essentially white, facilitating high-contrast photography and allowing for gray-tone illustration without any loss of information. The NeuN procedure does not stain axons, and since it does not stain glial cells or their nuclei, the noise ordinarily generated in nissl stains by the presence of glial cells among the neurons and in the white matter is entirely eliminated. The Forebrain Atlas of the Short-tailed Fruit Bat also includes nissl stained sections for two reasons: One, since some readers may be unfamiliar with the NeuN images, it is useful to include familiar images for comparison. More importantly, it is known that NeuN is not expressed in certain neurons, such as Purkinje cells, olfactory bulb mitral cells, and the cells of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. The nissl stained sections are thus included to provide complementary views of such structures. ​ The atlas will be useful for students and investigators doing neuroscience research on bat and other mammalian species, as well as students of comparative biology, zoology, brain evolution, and the history of neuroanatomical analysis.

As dusk settles over the Costa Rican forest, the short-tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata, stirs from its cave roost. Flying out to search for ripe fruit, Carollia returns to a night roost in the forest vegetation to eat. After a few such flights Carollia rests, and the fruits pass through its short digestive tract. The seeds are excreted onto the ground, to be eaten in turn by mice and insects, but a few are pushed into crevices where they await the necessary conditions for germination. In The Short-tailed Fruit Bat, Theodore Fleming examines Carollia's role in the ecology of tropical forests. Based on more than ten years' research, this study provides the most detailed ecological and evolutionary account to date of the life history of a Neotropical mammal and includes striking photographs of the bats in flight.

The Stereotaxic Brain Atlas of the Egyptian Fruit Bat provides the first stereotaxic atlas of the brain of the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), an emerging model in neuroscience. This atlas contains coronal brain sections stained with cresyl violet (Nissl), AChE, and Parvalbumin – all stereotaxically calibrated. It will serve the needs of any neuroscientist who wishes to work with these bats – allowing to precisely target specific brain areas for electrophysiology, optogenetics, pharmacology, and lesioning. More broadly, this atlas will be useful to all neuroscientists working with bats, as it delineates many brain regions that were not delineated so far in any bat species. Finally, this atlas will provide a useful resource for researchers interested in comparative neuroanatomy of the mammalian brain. - Provides detailed and accurate stereotaxic coverage of the Egyptian fruit bat forebrain - Contains 87 plates of coronal sections of adult Egyptian fruit bats, each with one Nissl-stained hemisphere and the other stained either for AChE or Parvalbumin - Delineates brain structures in the bat brain - Serves as an essential tool for directing electrophysiology, imaging, optogenetics, pharmacology and lesioning in Egyptian fruit bats, and bats more generally - Provides a rich resource for comparative neuroanatomy of the mammalian brain

The striking postcranial anatomy of bats reflects their specialized ecology; they are the only mammals capable of powered flight. Bat postcranial adaptations include a series of membranes that connect highly-modified, or even novel, skeletal elements. While most studies of bat postcranial anatomy have focused on their wings, bat hindlimbs also contain many derived and functionally important, yet less studied, features. In this study, I investigate the anatomy, evolution, and function of the calcar, a novel skeletal element found in bat feet. In the first chapter, I introduce calcar anatomy with a detailed study of three bat species with different flight and foraging ecologies. I found more complex muscle arrangements in the species that exhibit more maneuverable flight, suggesting that they have more control over calcar movement. This first study inspired the rest of the dissertation, by suggesting that calcar morphology is functionally-relevant. In the second chapter, I present a thorough overview of calcar skeletal anatomy throughout Chiroptera. Through evolutionary modeling of calcar length, I find that the calcar exhibits an early burst of morphological evolution, indicating that the calcar anatomically diversified as bats initially radiated through the aerosphere. In the third chapter, I again narrow the focus and conduct an analysis of calcar motion during free, forward-flight in a laboratory population of Seba's short-tailed fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata). I find that the calcar does rotate about its joint with the calcaneus and that this rotation is greater about one axis than another. The muscles inserting on the calcar may act to stabilize it in one plane of motion. These chapters provide the most complete study of calcars to-date, particularly with regard to the quantitative tests of calcar evolutionary patterns and kinematics. Four data tables and one video are provided as Electronic Supplementary Materials for Chapters 2 and 3. Collectively, these three chapters demonstrate that novel skeletal additions can become integrated into vertebrate body plans and subsequently evolve into a variety of forms, potentially impacting clade diversification by expanding the available morphological space into which organisms can evolve.

"Newly revised and extensively updated, the fifth edition of Mammalogy explains and clarifies the subject of mammalian biology as a unified whole, taking care to discuss the latest and most fascinating discoveries in the field. In recent years we witnessed significant changes in the taxonomy of mammals. The authors kept pace with such changes and revised each chapter to reflect the most current data and statistics available. New pedagogical elements, including chapter outlines, lists of key morphological characteristics, and further reading sections, help readers grasp the most important concepts and explore additional content on their own." --Book Jacket.

This book focuses on central themes related to the conservation of bats. It details their response to land-use change and management practices, intensified urbanization and roost disturbance and loss. Increasing interactions between humans and bats as a result of hunting, disease relationships, occupation of human dwellings, and conflict over fruit crops are explored in depth. Finally, contributors highlight the roles that taxonomy, conservation networks and conservation psychology have to play in conserving this imperilled but vital taxon. With over 1300 species, bats are the second largest order of mammals, yet as the Anthropocene dawns, bat populations around the world are in decline. Greater understanding of the anthropogenic drivers of this decline and exploration of possible mitigation measures are urgently needed if we are to retain global bat diversity in the coming decades. This book brings together teams of international experts to provide a global review of current understanding and recommend directions for future research and mitigation.

The first detailed account of post-copulatory sexual selection and the evolution of reproduction in mammals.