BookSven Klimpel, Heinz Mehlhorn, editors.
Summary: This book gathers contributions by 16 international authors on the phenomenon bats, shedding some light on their morphology, the feeding behaviors (insects, fruits, blood) of different groups, their potential and confirmed transmissions of agents of diseases, their endo- and ectoparasites, as well as countless myths surrounding their lifestyle (e.g. vampirism, chupacabras, batman etc.). Bats have been known in different cultures for several thousand centuries, however their nocturnal activities have made them mysterious and led to many legends and myths, while proven facts remained scarce. Even today, our knowledge of bats remains limited compared to other groups in the animal kingdom. Also, their famous ability to avoid collisions with obstacles during their nightly flights with the help of a sophisticated and unique system using ultrasound waves (which are transmitted and received) is as poorly studied as birds finding their way from continent to continent. In recent times, where globalization transports millions of people and goods from one end of the earth to the other, there are increased risks posed by agents of diseases, as a result of which bats have received increasing attention as potential vectors. These suppositions are based on their proven transmission of viruses such as rabies.
Contents:
Introduction: The world of bats / Heinz Mehlhorn
Bats: a glimpse on their astonishing morphology and lifestyle / Volker Walldorf and Heinz Mehlhorn
Bats as potential reservoir hosts for vector-borne diseases / Christian Melaun, Antje Werblow, Markus Wilhelm Busch, Andrew Liston, and Sven Klimpel
Bat endoparasites: a UK perspective / Jennifer S. Lord and Darren R. Brooks
Macroparasites of Microchiroptera: bat ectoparasites of Central and South America / Raphael Frank, Julian Münster, Julia Schulze, Andrew Liston, and Sven Klimpel
Parasitic bat flies (Diptera: Streblidae and Nycteribiidae): host specificity and potential as vectors / Carl W. Dick and Katharina Dittmar
No myth but reality: blood licking bats / Heinz Mehlhorn
Vampirism in medicine and culture / Peter Mario Kreuter and Heinz Schott
Unsolved and solved myths: chupacabras and "goat-milking" birds / Heinz Mehlhorn
Myth and reality: candiru, the bloodsucking fish that may enter humans / Heinz Mehlhorn.