Bats are the only mammals capable of true powered flight.
Unlike gliding mammals, bats generate lift and thrust by actively flapping their wings. Their wings are formed from a membrane of skin stretched over elongated finger bones, with the thumb usually remaining free. This structure allows precise manoeuvring and supports many different flight styles.
Flying squirrels, sugar gliders, and colugos can travel through the air, but they glide rather than produce sustained powered flight. Bats belong to the mammalian order Chiroptera, a name derived from Greek words meaning “hand-wing.” They are found on every continent except Antarctica and include both insect-eating microbats and generally fruit- or nectar-eating megabats. Many species use echolocation to navigate and hunt, although not every bat relies on it in the same way. Bats are also important pollinators, seed dispersers, and controllers of night-flying insect populations.