A bat a day for October (2): Brazilian (Mexican) Free-tailed Bat

The Brazilian Free-tailed Bat or Mexican Free Tailed Bat.

Between this dumb double name tricking me, the Big Free-tailed Bat, and Imgur refusing to upload my images, getting pictures was hell.

I'm a fan not a pro. If I get anything wrong, let me know.

So, what is this guy besides being very good(tm)?

A 2009 Guinness World Record holder is what!

For what? Just a casual speed of 99.5 MPH.
(44.5 meters per second)

This speed record title was met with scientific caution, naturally:

"The upper speeds logged in this research would also exceed those measured for the fastest birds in level flight. However, owing to the fact that fluctuating wind gusts and the effects of gravity (e.g., diving) could have impacted the results, some scientists have advised treating the data with caution and for further study to be conducted before it can be asserted that these bats are the fastest animals in horizontal flight overall. There are several other contenders for this title – all birds – including the common swift (Apus apus), the white-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) and the grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma), all of which are debated depending on the conditions in which they were flying and the accuracy of the measurement methods used."

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/549644-fastest-bat#:~:text=The%20fastest%2Dflying%20bat%2C%20and,%3B%2099.5%20miles%20per%20hour

More research in 2016 showed more reason to believe the original data was not only accurate, but that these guys are consistently fast. Wind speeds and external forces can never be ruled out, however.

"The adjustments of air speed in response to wind support that we document (figure 2b and figure 3a) are similar to those previously observed for birds, insects and other bats [33], and are consistent with models for optimal orientation to winds [34]. As a result of these adjustments, our analyses indicate that bats maintain similar ground speeds regardless of the strength of wind support (figure 2a,b) [33]. The response of bats to winds (figure 3a), and the lack of an association between ground speeds and the directions of prevailing winds (figure 3b) suggest that tailwinds do not account for the fast ground speeds that we document. However, within the spatial and temporal resolution of our wind analyses, we cannot rule out the possibility that fast ground speeds were assisted by fluctuating local wind gusts, perhaps enhanced by the hilly terrain (figure 1). In the absence of detailed and time-resolved knowledge of flight altitudes and local wind conditions, our understanding of the behavioural context and mechanistic basis of these high-speed flights is currently limited."

https://nymag.com/speed/2016/12/this-bat-is-now-the-fastest-horizontal-flier-on-earth.html

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.160398#d3e495

BIG munch.

Well this makes my job easier. Thanks, internet.

Comical lighting.

The range of these bats.