This comprehensive introduction to the biology of bats offers a summary of the large body of information about bats that the scientific community has amassed over the years. Gerhard Neuweiler, a leading, internationally recognized expert in the field, assesses the most current information available about physiological systems, ecology, and phylogeny of bats, as well as the biology of mammals in general. The book also features a thorough discussion of echolocation, a topic currently under intense scrutiny. The broad physiological perspective will allow the book to accompany regionally specific studies of bats. With examples are taken from European and neotropical species, as well as North American species, this useful volume documents what is currently known about this highly successful and fascinating order of mammals.