Chiropteran

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A flying mammal characterized by membranous wings formed by elongated finger bones and skin, capable of echolocation and predominantly active at night
2. A nocturnal mammal with wings formed by skin stretched between elongated finger bones, typically using sound waves for navigation and hunting
3. A winged mammal belonging to the order containing species that navigate via echolocation and possess hand-like skeletal structures supporting flight membranes

Etymology: "Chiropteran" is a name for the bat, built from Greek roots that literally describe its wings. The first part comes from Greek "kheir," meaning "hand," and "pteron," meaning "wing." Combined, these give "hand-wing," a fitting label for an animal whose wings are stretched membranes over elongated fingers. The name rests on "Chiroptera," the scientific order that includes all bats, a term assembled in the same way from those Greek elements. The English form adds the suffix "-an," which turns the order name into a noun for a member of that group, so a chiropteran is simply one of the bats.