Study: Bats use wing touch receptors

ATHENS, Ohio, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- An Ohio University study suggests bats not only use echoes to determine their physical environment, but also have touch-sensitive receptors on their wings.

Neurobiology Professor John Zook says the wing receptors assist the bats in maintaining altitude and catching insects in midair. His findings revive part of a long-forgotten theory that bats use their sense of touch for nighttime navigation and hunting.

The theory that bats fly by feel was first proposed in the 1780s by French biologist Georges Cuvier, but faded during the 1930s when researchers discovered echolocation, a kind of biological sonar in bats, dolphins and a few other animals.

Zook believes the touch-sensitive receptors on bat wings work in conjunction with echolocation to make bats more accurate nocturnal hunters. Echolocation helps bats detect their surroundings, while the touch-sensitive receptors help them maintain their flight path and snag their prey, he said.

Zook, who has studied bats for more than 30 years, presented his findings during a recent meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.