Bats are very intelligent creatures, there's no denying it, but the Spix's disc-winged bat (which has suction cuplike discs on it's wings and feet) has figured out a way to use a leaf as a hearing aid. Disc-winged bats don't roost in a cave like most bats do, they prefer the unfurling leaves of plants which form tubelike shapes. It's a pretty hectic lifestyle due to the fact that the leaves only stay in a tube shape for a day. The bat has to find a new place to sleep every morning. These bats also tend to stay in a group of about 5 or 6, and they may stay together like this for years, which is rare in bats. Although they live together and should recognize each others sound they can't seem to tell if they're talking to a friends or a stranger. After recording different types of communication calls from bats they played them through a leaf to see if it worked like a megaphone of sorts. They found that it only amplified the sounds by a decibel or two. The cries were distorted however, due to the fact that not all frequencies of sound are amplified equally. This explains why the roosting bat can hear it's friend but not recognize them.
Source - Speak Up! Costa Rican Bats Use Leaves as Hearing Aids by Stephanie Pappas.
Published - October 15th 2013.
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