Bats mimic hymenopteran insect sounds to deter predators

Mimicry is one of the most fascinating phenomena in nature1. Mimicry traits often reflect complex, finely tuned, and sometimes extravagant relationships among species and have evolved to deceive predators or prey. Indeed, mimicry has most often evolved to discourage predation: the ‘mimic’ exhibits p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ancillotto, L. (Author), Cappa, F. (Author), Cervo, R. (Author), Chaverri, G. (Author), Gamba, M. (Author), Pafundi, D. (Author), Russo, D. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cell Press 2022
Online Access:View Fulltext in Publisher
LEADER 01539nam a2200205Ia 4500
001 10.1016-j.cub.2022.03.052
008 220706s2022 CNT 000 0 und d
020 |a 09609822 (ISSN) 
245 1 0 |a Bats mimic hymenopteran insect sounds to deter predators 
260 0 |b Cell Press  |c 2022 
856 |z View Fulltext in Publisher  |u https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.052 
520 3 |a Mimicry is one of the most fascinating phenomena in nature1. Mimicry traits often reflect complex, finely tuned, and sometimes extravagant relationships among species and have evolved to deceive predators or prey. Indeed, mimicry has most often evolved to discourage predation: the ‘mimic’ exhibits phenotypic convergence towards a non-related ‘model’ organism which is inedible or harmful, so that a given predator, or ‘receiver’, will refrain from attacking or ingesting the mimic. Traditionally, mimicry is mainly evident and has been mainly studied in the visual domain. Here, we report experiments that document the first case of interspecific acoustic mimicry in a mammal and demonstrate that the distress calls the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) broadcasts when handled imitate sounds of stinging bees or wasps to discourage the bat's avian predators. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. 
700 1 0 |a Ancillotto, L.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Cappa, F.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Cervo, R.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Chaverri, G.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Gamba, M.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Pafundi, D.  |e author 
700 1 0 |a Russo, D.  |e author 
773 |t Current Biology