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
Barbastelle this world, participated in an evolutionary arms race. The foe for the bat order Chiroptera is its prey, the moth order Lepidoptera. To minimize the risk of the bats' echolocation, moths [and in rarest examples, butterflies] have evolved to detect the echolocation calls of hunting bats, and evoke evasive flight manoeuvres, or reply with their own ultrasonic clicks to confuse the bat's echolocation. The Arctiidae subfamily of Noctuid moths uniquely respond to bat echolocation in three prevailing hypotheses: startle, sonar jamming, and acoustic aposematic defence. All these differences depend on specific environmental settings and the type of echolocation call; however,