Bizarre Conjoined Bat Twins Spotted In Brazil
- 7 years ago
A new study documents an extremely rare case of conjoined bat twins found in Brazil.
A new study documents an extremely rare case of conjoined bat twins found in Brazil.
According to National Geographic, their remains were donated to the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro after being found under a mango tree in 2001; as Marcelo Nogueira, one of the paper’s authors, has said, “We believe the mother of these twins was roosting in this tree when she gave birth.”
Though it is unknown if the twins were born alive, researchers have since determined that they are males with two heads, necks, forelimbs, and hindlimbs but a shared trunk.
The study says, “X-ray images also show that vertebral columns run separated from head until the base of lumbar region, where they form a single structure.”
As such, the spine appears to have a “Y” shape.
This is believed to be only the third known case of conjoined bats ever found, though LiveScience points out that the rarity may be because the flying mammals typically live far from humans.
That said, experts suspect their survival rate in the wild is low.
Researchers hope the unique pair can help advance scientists’ understanding of bats’ embryonic development.
A new study documents an extremely rare case of conjoined bat twins found in Brazil.
According to National Geographic, their remains were donated to the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro after being found under a mango tree in 2001; as Marcelo Nogueira, one of the paper’s authors, has said, “We believe the mother of these twins was roosting in this tree when she gave birth.”
Though it is unknown if the twins were born alive, researchers have since determined that they are males with two heads, necks, forelimbs, and hindlimbs but a shared trunk.
The study says, “X-ray images also show that vertebral columns run separated from head until the base of lumbar region, where they form a single structure.”
As such, the spine appears to have a “Y” shape.
This is believed to be only the third known case of conjoined bats ever found, though LiveScience points out that the rarity may be because the flying mammals typically live far from humans.
That said, experts suspect their survival rate in the wild is low.
Researchers hope the unique pair can help advance scientists’ understanding of bats’ embryonic development.