Flapping tail membrane in bats produces potentially important thrust during horizontal takeoffs and very slow flight.

Clicks: 326
ID: 47809
2012
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Popular

Ranked #739 of 2,056 articles by views in PloS one

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 2,056 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Historically, studies concerning bat flight have focused primarily on the wings. By analyzing high-speed video taken on 48 individuals of five species of vespertilionid bats, we show that the capacity to flap the tail-membrane (uropatagium) in order to generate thrust and lift during takeoffs and minimal-speed flight (<1 m (s-1)) was largely underestimated. Indeed, bats flapped the tail-membrane by extensive dorso-ventral fanning motions covering as much as 135 degrees of arc consistent with thrust generation by air displacement. The degree of dorsal extension of the tail-membrane, and thus the potential amount of thrust generated during platform launches, was significantly correlated with body mass (P = 0.02). Adduction of the hind limbs during upstrokes collapsed the tail-membrane thereby reducing its surface area and minimizing negative lift forces. Abduction of the hind limbs during the downstroke fully expanded the tail-membrane as it was swept ventrally. The flapping kinematics of the tail-membrane is thus consistent with expectations for an airfoil. Timing offsets between the wings and tail-membrane during downstrokes was as much as 50%, suggesting that the tail-membrane was providing thrust and perhaps lift when the wings were retracting through the upstoke phase of the wing-beat cycle. The extent to which the tail-membrane was used during takeoffs differed significantly among four vespertilionid species (P = 0.01) and aligned with predictions derived from bat ecomorphology. The extensive fanning motion of the tail membrane by vespertilionid bats has not been reported for other flying vertebrates.
Reference Key
adams2012flappingplos Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Adams, Rick A;Snode, Emily R;Shaw, Jason B;
Journal PloS one
Year 2012
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0032074
URL
Keywords
avian covert feathers flight feathers quill knobs smooth muscle wing shape

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.