In the early 18th century, a New Jersey Quaker called Daniel Leeds started drifting away from local Quaker leaders, who disliked his political views. As one of the largest bats in the world, one would think that it would be a threat to humankind, especially since it cuts such an imposing figure. Although the hammerhead bat is a relatively large bat, the viral image may have given some viewers a false impression of the animal's true size. | In captivity, hammer-headed bats, particularly males, are vulnerable to stress-related illness, especially when moved or placed in new enclosures.[31]. "WHAT-IS-IT VISITS ALL SOUTH JERSEY" declared the front page of The Inquirer on Jan. 21, 1909 - above a photograph of "actual proof-prints of the strange creature." "Hooflike tracks" could be seen in the snow "in practically every block in Burlington city" - including rooftops - throwing . In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. It is larger than an adult human in size and looks like as drawn. It is not unusual for tagged great whitessometimes with amusing names like Mary Lee (who has her own Twitter account), Ironbound and Mapleto ping off the coast of New Jersey. Hammer-headed bats are polygynous meaning that males mate with more than one female. They eat fruit mostly figs. Hammer-headed bats are frugivores. But could this weird-looking creature, native to. They eat fruit mostly figs. It is the only member of the genus Hypsignathus, which is part of the tribe Epomophorini along with four other genera. But once again, the sizes between the Hammerhead Bat and the Jersey Devil are way off. The hammer-headed bat, also known as hammer-headed fruit bat and big-lipped bat, is a megabat species whose range is distributed across the tropical forests of central Africa. If the grassy expanses continue to degrade unchecked, they will no longer provide the nurturing resources and conditions to sustain sharks and many other species. 1. Occasionally, groups of up to twenty-five have been documented. With more frequent, unpredictable storms and sea level rise accelerating, many of New Jerseys salt marshes are drowning. Photographs exhibiting the forced perspective optical illusion have caused confusion about the relative sizes of frogs, rats, snakes, and half-eaten sharks. [13] Females reach sexual maturity faster than males, and can reproduce at six months. Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. These leks are usually formed along streams or riverbeds and consist of 20-135 males. Throughout Equatorial Africa, the Hypsignathus monstrosus better known as the hammer-headed bat dominates the night sky with its monstrous wingspan and its pestilently loud noises. Hammer-headed bats are prone to infection by mites and Hepatocystis carpenteri, a protozoan that affects the liver. To this day, additional studies are being conducted by scientists to determine the true nature of Ebola transmission, according to Science, but as of 2022, there are no definitive studies that link the bat to Ebola transmission. But the one up that the Crane has over the bat is that the Crane is native to New Jersey and the bat is native to Africa. After all, who could believe that Pine Barrens is actually haunted by a long-legged, cloven-hooved, bat-winged monster with a long, goat-like face and a body like a kangaroo? It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream"." The hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), widely distributed in equatorial Africa, is one of three species of African fruit bat thought to be asymptomatically infected with the Ebola. The polygynous males do not stick around to help raise their young. As far as the face of the Hammerhead Bat it appears to be a better explanation of what people of the Pine Barrens have been seeing as opposed to the Sandhill Crane. It forages at night, sleeping during the day in tree roosts. [10], The wings are characterized by low aspect ratio, meaning that it has a smaller wingspan relative to the wing area. While might catch glimpses of Travel Channel is kicking off Halloween season on October 4th with a very special live event that brings together more of the networks top paranormal stars than you can For most of us, ignoring the strange people on the subway is second nature, but if you ever find yourself in the tunnels below New York City and you Tweets by @WeirdHQ The Nature Conservancy is using innovative natural solutionsto help salt marshes persist. Mobile Terms & Conditions The hammer-headed bat ( Hypsignathus monstrosus ), also known as hammer-headed fruit bat and big-lipped bat, is a megabat widely distributed in West and Central Africa. Hammer-Headed Bat on The IUCN Red List site -, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer-headed_bat, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10734/115098825, https://creazilla.com/nodes/3434072-hammer-headed-bat-vector. Get to know themand their bigger counterparts in the Atlantic! [22] It is eaten in Nigeria,[23] as well as seasonally in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. New Jersey has 200,000 acres of coastal salt marsh. The bats usually gather in roosts with less than five individual animals, even though . Tall wetland grasses provide growing young shark pups with safe, predator-free habitat. October 4, 2013 in Cryptozoology, Myths and Legends. Females reach sexual maturity at 6 months of age. But just going on looks I can see how if people saw this bat they could confuse it with some of the depictions of JD. Male hammer-headed bats are larger than females and look so different from their mates that it would be easy to think they belonged to a different species. Bats have such incredibly bizarre faces, they are fascinating to me. Encyclopedia Of Life. They drive economic benefits through recreation and fishing. This website uses cookies to enhance your experience and analyze performance and traffic on our website. Minus the bat, all the mentioned animals are on the larger sized and also eat fruits or various kinds of plants. It's easy! Males and females both have dark brown fur, with a paler mantle (sides and back of neck). Of course, there's the minor issue that the hammerhead bat is native to Africa, not North America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer-headed_bat. Erika Nortemann / The Nature Conservancy, Cape May Wetlands: The Jersey Devil plagues many of those trying to make sense of cryptozoology, especially because of its highly unusual description. It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream".". Male hammer-headed bats can have a wingspan of greater than three feet. Female bats fly through the lek, select a male they wish to mate with, and land on the branch beside him. Bats have such incredibly bizarre faces, they are fascinating to me. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a goat- or horse-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked tail. We've collected a few other images of the hammerhead bat for comparison: Images of the hammer-headed bat are often met with skepticism, and some viewers claim that this odd-looking creature could be the real-world animal responsible for various sightings of mythical creatures such as the "New Jersey Devil.". Their moderately long, rounded snout contributes to their overall length of up to eight feet. 2023 The Nature Conservancy The tongue of the Hammer-headed bat is large and powerful, with an expanded, tridentate tip. Ugly. As noted by Bats Magazine, the hammer-headed bat can possess a wingspan of nearly 40 inches, but it's average body length is only about 10 inches: H. monstrosus is the largest bat found in Africa, with males being significantly larger than females. Ouch. Is there a possibility th. It has low fidelity to its roost and will move to a new roost after 59 days. Females use trap-lining, in which they travel an established route with dependable and predictable food sources, even if the food is lower quality. It is not considered a species of conservation concern due to its large range and presumably large population size. "In Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia folklore, the Jersey Devil (also known as the Leeds Devil) is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of South Jersey. ". Hammerhead bats are native to Central Africa, and . Because of their all-fruit diet, theyre considered a pest by many African farmers, who eliminate them when necessary to save their crops. Terms of Use The roost of a hammer-headed bat typically consists of fewer than five creatures. Michele D'Amico supersky77 / Getty Images. [22] Its ability to produce extremely loud vocalizations means that some consider it one of Africa's most significant nocturnal pests. Meet The Hammer-Headed Bat, The African Megabat Thats Been Dubbed One Of The Worlds Ugliest Creatures. In this type of mating, males gather in groups of 25 to 130 individuals to perform a mating ritual consisting of wing flapping and loud honking. Login. Enter your email address to subscribe to Week in Weird and receive the latest weird news delivered directly to your inbox! Females usually give birth to one offspring. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. For now, conservationists simply continue to monitor one of Africas most iconic bat species. The picture was published in 1909 in the Philadelphia Bulletin. The biggest threat to Hammer-headed bats is habitat destruction. The NIH reported: Molecular testing implicated this species and other African bats as potential reservoir hosts for Ebola virus, and it was one of only two fruit bat species epidemiologically linked to the 2008 Luebo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola outbreak.. There's virtually no way possible that a frugivorous bat from Africa survived in Jersey for long, and certainly not the period of time over which there were sightings. Smooth dogfish and sandbar sharks feed on blue crabs. By using this site you consent to our use of cookies as per our. Some have suggested that the strange-looking, long-faced hammerhead bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), which can have a wingspan of almost 40 inches, looks a lot like the traditional depiction of the cryptid. [14] This is seen in a few other bat genera, including Epomophorus and Epomops. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In 2013 I had a sighting of this alien cryptid which I had named "Big Bat". Bushmeat is a catch-all term used to describe wild game in general, but it is often used specifically to denote game meat from Africa. Hammerhead bats are found at elevations less than 1800 m. They prefer riverine forests, swamps, mangroves, and palm forests. Nevertheless, you shouldn't get too close, because it's one of three species of African fruit bat believed to carry the Ebola virus. [12], This species is often cited as an example of classical lek mating,[18] and is perhaps the only bat species with such. April 29, 2020. Shutterstock. In contrast, males become reproductively mature when they are eighteen months old. Sign up for a new account in our community. Figs make up much of their diet, but mangos, bananas, and guavas may also be consumed. Upon finding suitable fruit, Hammer-headed bats may eat at the tree or pick the fruit and carry it away to another site for consumption. Hammer-headed bats are found in West and Central Africa, including the following countries: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda. The common adjective is "nocturnal", A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Females tend to travel a consistent route to find predictable fruits, whereas males travel more to find the highest quality fruit. The hammer-headed bat is sometimes confused with Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi), which belongs to the same family but is smaller. [12] Most records of this species occur in rainforest habitat, including lowland rainforest, swamp forest, riverine forests, and mosaics of forest and grassland. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Hammer-Headed Bat Facts (Big-Lipped Bat)." Cool bat. During most of the day, bats sleep with their noses covered by their wings. Hammer-Headed Bat Facts (Big-Lipped Bat). Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com, A photograph showing an odd-looking, large bat with an elongated face known as a "hammerhead bat. On average, they grow up to three feet long. Summaries. It is classified as a megabat and is native to Africa.it might be possible that this bat was brought to NJ on a boat and escaped, primitive man may have seen him and the Jersey Devil sightings were sparked in 1909.. Like this guy! Her work has been featured in People, Teen Vogue, BET, HipHopDX, XXL Magazine, The Source, Vibe, The Los Angeles Times, and more. Figs make up much of their diet, but mangos, bananas and guavas may also be consumed. That said, the hammer-headed bat is a threat in another, perhaps more surprising way. ? It has two mating seasons each year during the dry seasons. The ears are triangular and blackish-brown, and the eyes are very large. (MacNamara et al., 1979; Langevin and Barclay, 1990) Habitat Regions tropical Terrestrial Biomes forest Wetlands swamp Other Habitat Features riparian Range elevation 1800 (high) m 5905.51 (high) ft The hammerhead bat is a mammal and its habitat is in equatorial Africa. It has two mating seasons each year during the dry seasons. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)? Don't criticize what you do not understand. Habitat:These sharks commonly reside on continental shelves, and in bays and other inshore waters. However, some populations of Hammer-headed bats in West Africa do not use leks. These estuary habitats clean the water and act as a first-line defense against the force of incoming waves for coastal communities. The wing loading is considered exceptionally high, meaning that it has a large body weight relative to the wing area. Their bellies are white while the rest of their body ranges from brown, gray, blue-gray to blackish. They are also persecuted as pests due to their frugivorous diet and their extremely loud honking noises at night. The Sandhill Crane is a herbivore, but since the Jersey Devil has been accused of stealing and attacking livestock and chickens he is thought of as a carnivore. [13] Newborns weigh approximately 40g (1.4oz) at birth. [10] It relies on camouflage to hide from predators. This creature seems to be by all means associated with the Agenda group. They are active during the night, probably in order to avoid overheating. This breed of bat (Hammerhead) might have been mistaken as the Jersey Devil. Below is what I wrote in 2020 from having encountered pictures of the real hammerhead bat which is an animal that lives in Africa, and then coming across mention of the cryptid known as the Jersey Devil which has a striking resemblance to my Big Bat from 2013: The drawing of this big bat was made on June 26, 2013, and so without looking through the archives I presume that my first encounter of this being was in 2013. Bat Magazine. There, they produce loud, honking vocalizations to attract females. Get text updates from The Nature Conservancy: TNC staff survey plants and wildlife as part of a study to see how the ecosystem is re-colonizing low areas of the marsh post-restoration. Did you mean to type The drawing I have made here on this page, was made in 2013 when I had the sighting of the Big Bat. The two paragraphs below is my full original text about the sighting I had of the "Big Bat" in 2013 and remains here unaltered: The hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), also known as hammer-headed fruit bat and big-lipped bat, is a megabat widely distributed in West and Central Africa. It's a flying moose, or a bat", "Hunting for Ebola among the bats of the Congo", Audio recording of a few males honking in the early evening at their lek, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hammer-headed_bat&oldid=1136306370, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Males gather in a particular region, known as a lek; here, they establish "display territories", Display territories offer no beneficial resources to females beyond access to males, Males do not assist females in caring for offspring, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 18:42. Newspaper accounts of the Jersey devil started circulating in the early years of the 20 th century, although it may have been an established folktale before then. Females measure 195 to 225 mm, averaging 210 mm. Please enter a valid email address (formatted as [email protected]). Description: Large sharks withrobust, muscular bodies of light brown or gray color. In Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is consumed as bushmeat. The hammer-headed bat is also known as the big-lipped bat. Females reach adult size by nine months of age. The hammer-headed bat was described as a new species in 1861 by American scientist Harrison Allen. The bats are preyed upon by humans and birds of prey. While figs are their favored food, they also eat bananas, mangoes, and guavas. Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi) also has a hammer-head face. Males range in weight from 8.0 to 15.9oz, while females weigh 7.7 to 13.3oz. Hammerhead bats are frugivores whose natural diet consists mostly of (wild) bananas, mangoes, and figs. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/hammer-headed-bat-facts-4177418. . The Jersey Devil "Hammer-Headed Fruit Bat." He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Description: Very large sharks with gray, torpedo shaped bodies and white bellies, a pointy snout and sizeable mouths filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Smooth dogfish nurseries have been documented in New Jerseys estuaries and shallow tidal waters, particularly Great Bay and Little Egg Harbor. Males gather together in groups to attract females and impress them with courtship rituals, which involves ' calling ' to entice females to mate. Habitat: Habitat for this species includes the surf zone, shallow bays, and coral and rocky reefs. The hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus ), also known as hammer-headed fruit bat and big-lipped bat, is a megabat widely distributed in West and Central Africa. [10] The thumb is approximately 128137mm (5.05.4in) long. This breed of bat (Hammerhead) might have been mistaken as the Jersey Devil. It is also known as an African fruit bat, along with two other varieties (Myonycteris torquata and Rousettus aegyptiacus). However, its worth noting that other studies havent conclusively determined that the bats are ground zero for the Ebola virus. Updated: 16:45, 15 Aug 2018 THE hammerhead bat looks like something straight from the special effects department of a horror movie - but in parts of Africa they're as common as cats. It much resembles the fruit bat which is a species of bat on Earth, although the head of this big bat reminds me of the head of a horse. However it is interesting that I would have seen the creature in mental images, presumably before I had known about the Jersey Devil, especially considering how surprised I was to come across this picture of the Jersey Devil, and that my Big Bat and the Jersey Devil would look identical to each other. Im on my second guardian angel.. my first one quit and is now in therapy. In Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, these bats are hunted and consumed as bushmeat. Whether or not the bats can transmit Ebola infection to humans is unknown. Dunning notes that there's one particular animal in the New Jersey area that might be responsible forat least a few JerseyDevil stories: the sandhill crane. As one of the largest bats in the world, one would think that it would be a . [10] These numerous adaptations caused scientists Herbert Lang and James Chapin to remark, "In no other mammal is everything so entirely subordinated to the organs of voice". The hammer-headed bat, with wingspans up to 38 inches (97 cm), is Africas largest bat. To manage or opt-out of receiving cookies, please visit our. In the forest canopy, they also rely on camouflage to hide them from predators. The sizes are a bit off given that some people stated that the Jersey Devil was between 6-8 feet tall and the bat has a wing span of 27-38 inches and a total length of 7.7-11.2 inches, weighing 8-15.9 ounces and the females are slightly smaller. 2. This bat however is only 9-10 inches tall and while that is large for a bat it's kind of hard to think if you saw it flying in the sky that you'd believe it was human sized. Males and females also greatly differ in appearance, making it the most sexually dimorphic bat species in the world. Some smooth dogfish will live their entire lives in the . The tongue is large and powerful, with an expanded, tridentate tip. Youve already signed up with this email address. Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. They may roost alone or in small groups and unlike many other bat species that segregate based on sex, male and female Hammer-headed bats will roost together in small groups of around four individuals. With the onset of a global pandemic causing the shutdown of fan conventions all over the world, it was only a matter of time before the cancellations hit the Theres something strange moving through Kentucky like a virus, twisting through the Mammoth Cave system and hovering in the skies above the Appalachian Mountains. A HORSE LIKE FACE: Based on this varied description, the Jersey Devil's face could resemble a deer, horse, kangaroo, moose or a bat, all of which are land mammals that mankind has been familiar with for many centuries. Fish living in coastal marshes are food sources for many species of migrating birds and sharks. They are Africa's largest bat, with wingspans up to 38 inches (97 cm). To review your email preferences, please visit nature.org/emailpreferences. Public DomainThis illustration of a hammer-headed bat appeared in The American Museum Congo Expedition Collection of Bats c. 1917. Animals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents. Strong sexual dimorphism is observed in the species, as males are significantly larger than females. The hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus) is a megabat found in the tropical forests of central Africa. They can fly. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous' Polygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male. Unexplained-Mysteries.com These bats exhibit classical lek mating and are perhaps the only bats with such. [10] The males at the center of the lek have the most success, and are responsible for the majority of matings:[12] the top 6% of males have 79% of the total matings. [19] The classical lek is defined by four criteria:[10], Males form these leks along streams or riverbeds during the mating season, which lasts 13 months. [8][9], The hammer-headed bat is the largest bat in mainland Africa. The average weight of males is 420g (15oz), compared to 234g (8.3oz) for females. Offspring are born five or six months later, typically a singleton, though twins have been documented. New Jersey's most legendary and most mysterious resident is investigated. Females reach reproductive maturity faster than males; they can reproduce at six months and reach adult size by nine months of age. [5] The species name monstrosus is Latin for "having the qualities of a monster". Males, in contrast, search for areas rich with food, traveling up to 10km (6.2mi) to reach particularly good food patches. Also the Crane stands about 40-48 inches (3-4 feet) tall and the Jersey Devil is about 72-96 inches (6-8 feet). Help protect the wetlands and waters that sharks rely on. They can grow to nearly eleven feet and 300 pounds! They chew the fruit, swallowing the juice and soft pulp, before spitting out the rest. A few years ago people started pointing out that the hammerhead bat looked a lot like drawings of the Jersey Devil, a cryptid supposedly seen in the southern New Jersey pine barrens. It is believed to be the only bat species with a classical lek mating system, wherein males gather on a "lek", which in this case is a long and thin stretch of land, such as along a river. After that, they will spend their lives at sea. It is the only member of the genus Hypsignathus, which is part of the tribe Epomophorini along with four other genera.
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