''Mucuna holtonii'' is a species of plant in the
bean family, which is pollinated by
bats. Bats are able to detect if the flowers have nectar using
echolocation.
[*D. von Helversen and O. von Helversen. "Object recognition by echolocation: a nectar feedingbat exploiting the flowers of a rain forest vine". in Journal of Comp. Physiol. A. (2003) 189: 327-336.][von Helversen & von Helversen (1999]
Acoustic guide in bat-pollinated flower
''Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
'' 398:759-760. After an initial bat visit during which nectar is removed, the petals are arranged in a different manner (altering the shape of the flower). As a result, the unique "echo fingerprint" of petal arrangement informs the bat whether nectar is present or absent.
It is thought that the plant evolved acoustically conspicuous structures to make them easier to detect by
glossophagine bats.
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References
holtonii
{{Phaseoleae-stub