Surprisingly, this specimen is the third example of conjoined bats found, but the phenomena is still poorly known outside of human beings. This is likely because so few of the animals probably survive. In people, twins being conjoined is typically a fatal condition over 80 percent of the time—and it may be higher among animals without medical or social support.
A rare and unusual discovery has left scientists perplexed as they recently caught sight of twin bats conjoined together in the heart of the rainforest. The conjoined twins, sharing one body, left the researchers baffled as they attempted to understand this unusual phenomenon.
The discovery is extremely rare and has never been seen before in the species of bat that was observed.
Researchers are now working to study these bats in more detail and learn more about how the twins are functioning together, as well as the impact that their condition may have on their daily lives.
An x-ray shows these male bats have separate heads and necks, but their spines eventually converge. They also have two similarly sized but separate hearts.
The researchers believe these bats are newborn Artibeus bats from their physical characteristics, and also surmise they died at birth or were stillborn as their placenta is still attached.
This discovery is a testament to the biodiversity of our planet, and reminds us that there is still so much we have yet to discover about the natural world around us.
“It is our hope that cases like this will encourage more studies on bat embryology, an open and fascinating field of research that can largely benefit from material already available in scientific collections.”