Megabat Megabat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or, especially the genera "Acerodon" and "Pteropus", flying foxes. Megabats are found in tropical and subtropical areas of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Compared to insectivorous bats, fruit bats are relatively large, and with some exceptions, do not navigate by echolocation. They are herbivores and rely on their keen senses of sight and smell to locate food. Most fruit bats are larger than insectivorous bats or Microchiroptera, but a number of small fruit bats exist, also. The smallest species is
Robert Galambos generate and hear sounds an octave higher than can be heard by humans and other animals. Experiments they conducted used methods developed by Hallowell Davis to monitor the brains of bats and their hearing responses as they navigated their way past wires suspended from a laboratory ceiling. They showed how bats used echolocation to accurately avoid obstacles, which they were unable to do if their mouths or ears were kept shut. Griffin coined the term "echolocation" in 1944 to describe the phenomenon, which many physiologists of the day could not believe was possible. Using electrodes implanted in the brains of