Email Print Share
October 28, 2021

Pale spear-nosed bats have exceptional longevity

Despite their small body size, bats like this pale spear-nosed bat (Phyllostomus discolor) live longer than expected. NSF-supported researchers are comparing the genomes of closely related species with different life spans to learn more about the secrets of exceptional longevity.

[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant DEB 1838273.]

Learn more in the NSF news release NSF announces new awards for Understanding the Rules of Life. (Date image taken: unknown; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Oct. , 2021)

Credit: Stephen J. Rossiter, Queen Mary University, London


Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.

Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.

Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.