# Mummified bat id



## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

My daughters boyfriend is a fabricator and while they were working last week they found the mummified remains of this bat in an underground duct in Lancashire. To me it looks like the remains of a fruit bat but how the hell did it get there ? or do we get bats in this country this big?


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

Get in touch with the bat preservation people they should know what it is and whether it should have been where it was!


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

IMO looks a bit big for any UK bats, Maybe send it to London museum for ID.


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

Yep looking too big for any of the current species of UK bats. I would get it to an expert for preservation and identification.


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Its not a bat!!

Bat Conservation Trust wrote "Hiya Michelle, Sorry for the late reply. We've been studying this for a while and we don’t think it can be a bat. Bats fingers have evolved to become the digits within the wing with a membrane covering them which enables them to fly and in this picture there are definitely two sets of claws which bats do not have. We would assume it is some sort of rodent but cannot be sure of any definitive answer. We’d suggest taking the animal to your local Natural History Museum, they may have a specialist who will be able to ID it for you."


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## Lenor (Jul 24, 2009)

Could it be a cat/kitten? head right sort of shape, feet look a bit like cats paws, and the teeth are totally wrong for a rodent but right for a cat... definitely some sort of carnivorous/semi-carnivorous animal with those teeth....

It's kinda morbid but this and the recent thread about the drowned animal I've kinda enjoyed playing "guess the dead body". Hmmm... bit worrying what that says about me......


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Lenor said:


> Could it be a cat/kitten? head right sort of shape, feet look a bit like cats paws, and the teeth are totally wrong for a rodent but right for a cat... definitely some sort of carnivorous/semi-carnivorous animal with those teeth....
> 
> *It's kinda morbid but this and the recent thread about the drowned animal I've kinda enjoyed playing "guess the dead body". Hmmm... bit worrying what that says about me......[/*QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## rimonex (Dec 21, 2010)

Could you take a close up picture of the teeth please? That'd probably be the easiest way to get an ID.


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## LiquidOnyx (Aug 23, 2011)

Looks like a kitten to me. The skull looks exactly like one I own, and the paws are very cat-like.


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## jay1122 (Jun 26, 2011)

i sy cat lol


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## SnickersTheFirst (Jul 19, 2011)

It does look very cat/kitten like...poor thing. 

Would be good if you got an ID done at a museum or something so we could know for sure.


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## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

Skull looks right for a cat, but hard to be sure without closer pictures. "wings" seem to be quite common in unidentified mumified or rotting animals and are usuauly just sections of skin dried in unusual posisions.


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

I cant get any more pics as its my daughters boyfriends find and he gave it to his friends daughter for school:bash:
Corvid, I can see what you mean about the wings being skin. The eye sockets look wrong for a cat but it could be because there is still skin attached to the skull.


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

That's a really interesting find!!


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