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Description
Sample critter for a future descendant of bats on the Spec Evo boards.
Velificocheirus piscatorus – “Sailbat” (Sail-armed fisher)
In the long, hot dry era after the mass extinctions that marked the end of the Anthropocene, many fish continued to thrive in the great underground reservoirs of caves, previously without openings to the surface, that had been exposed by human-activity created sinkholes. Fishing bats soon developed to take advantage of this new food source, using their echolocation to detect ripples on the water’s surface. One family, the Naviculonatans, took to water like a (literal) duck. Originally the hind limbs were used for sculling while the wings were kept spread and lifted from the water to keep them dry and to balance the bat’s body. From these, the sailbat evolved and moved out onto open-air lakes.
Sailbats are, as the implies, living sailboats – they fly on the surface of the water. The bat’s body is smoothly spindle-shaped, covered in a short, dense, oily, waterproof pelt that keeps the bat dry and traps air bubbles to improve its buoyancy. It’s stabilized by a thin cartilaginous keel that juts down from the breastbone. The bat raises its mainsail wings, one at a time, to catch the harsh winds blowing across their lake habitats and propel themselves. Unlike the thin, flabby membranes of ancestral bats, the sailbat’s wing is thick with connective tissue that give it an ideal, flexible airfoil shape. Although the bats can propel themselves with their broad, paddle-like hindpaws, these are mostly used as rudders for steering. The bat’s long, supple neck is usually held folded so the sail-shaped crest rising from its caruncled face can act as a jib, reducing air turbulence and adding extra power to the mainsail. Like its ancestors, the bat detects fishy ripples on the water’s surface with its sonar. Clear nictitating membranes protect the eyes, as do the fleshy warts on the face, deflecting spiny fins. The ears and nostrils can shut to prevent water entering them. The bat’s long, hooked teeth are perfectly suited for snagging slippery fish. It usually hunts smaller prey that can be slicked up with a few bites and swallowed almost whole.
Sailbats are crepuscular, preferring to hunt in the morning and evening when the change in temperature creates the strongest winds – with skill, the bat can reach 3-4 times the current windspeed. They live in small colonies which build systems of burrows near the shoreline. On land, the bats walk in a clumsy, upright fashion reminiscent of penguins. The males court the females with offerings of fish and ultrasonic serenades, but after mating take no part in the rearing of pups. The infants are born rather advanced, with a full coat of insulting fur, and mothers carry them along on their hunts. Predators include thorros (fishing raccoonoids which won’t bother an adult bat but will try to snatch away an infant) and the aquatic feline “lake lions”, which lay in wait near their shoreline burrows.
Velificocheirus piscatorus – “Sailbat” (Sail-armed fisher)
In the long, hot dry era after the mass extinctions that marked the end of the Anthropocene, many fish continued to thrive in the great underground reservoirs of caves, previously without openings to the surface, that had been exposed by human-activity created sinkholes. Fishing bats soon developed to take advantage of this new food source, using their echolocation to detect ripples on the water’s surface. One family, the Naviculonatans, took to water like a (literal) duck. Originally the hind limbs were used for sculling while the wings were kept spread and lifted from the water to keep them dry and to balance the bat’s body. From these, the sailbat evolved and moved out onto open-air lakes.
Sailbats are, as the implies, living sailboats – they fly on the surface of the water. The bat’s body is smoothly spindle-shaped, covered in a short, dense, oily, waterproof pelt that keeps the bat dry and traps air bubbles to improve its buoyancy. It’s stabilized by a thin cartilaginous keel that juts down from the breastbone. The bat raises its mainsail wings, one at a time, to catch the harsh winds blowing across their lake habitats and propel themselves. Unlike the thin, flabby membranes of ancestral bats, the sailbat’s wing is thick with connective tissue that give it an ideal, flexible airfoil shape. Although the bats can propel themselves with their broad, paddle-like hindpaws, these are mostly used as rudders for steering. The bat’s long, supple neck is usually held folded so the sail-shaped crest rising from its caruncled face can act as a jib, reducing air turbulence and adding extra power to the mainsail. Like its ancestors, the bat detects fishy ripples on the water’s surface with its sonar. Clear nictitating membranes protect the eyes, as do the fleshy warts on the face, deflecting spiny fins. The ears and nostrils can shut to prevent water entering them. The bat’s long, hooked teeth are perfectly suited for snagging slippery fish. It usually hunts smaller prey that can be slicked up with a few bites and swallowed almost whole.
Sailbats are crepuscular, preferring to hunt in the morning and evening when the change in temperature creates the strongest winds – with skill, the bat can reach 3-4 times the current windspeed. They live in small colonies which build systems of burrows near the shoreline. On land, the bats walk in a clumsy, upright fashion reminiscent of penguins. The males court the females with offerings of fish and ultrasonic serenades, but after mating take no part in the rearing of pups. The infants are born rather advanced, with a full coat of insulting fur, and mothers carry them along on their hunts. Predators include thorros (fishing raccoonoids which won’t bother an adult bat but will try to snatch away an infant) and the aquatic feline “lake lions”, which lay in wait near their shoreline burrows.
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Comments13
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Very cool creature. Reminds me of the sail people from All Tomorrows.