Plant evolved a bat beckoning beacon

A rainforest vine has evolved dish-shaped leaves to attract the bats that pollinate it, scientists have found.

Tests revealed that the leaves were supremely efficient at bouncing back the sound pulses the flying mammals used to navigate.

When the leaves were present the bats located the plant twice as quickly as when these echoing leaves were removed.

A team of scientists in the UK and Germany reported its findings in the journal Science.

The study is the first to find a plant with “specialised acoustic features” to help bat pollinators find them using sound.

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