Bat echolocation is considered one of the most complex and diverse modes of sensory perception in animals, but its origin and evolutionary history is a highly contentious issue that remains unresolved. Today, three phylogenetic groups are recognised: fruit bats, yangochiropteran bats, and rhinolophoid bats. Fruit bats do not engage in laryngeal echolocation, whereas the other two groups do. Therefore, whether echolocation evolved once or multiple times has particularly been a subject of controversy.Here, using diceCT (soft tissue stained microCT) to trace the development of the hearing apparatus at a macroevolutionary scale, we present embryological evidence in support of laryngeal echolocation having multiple origins in bats. Our developmental data are consistent with a non-echolocating bat ancestor and independent gain of echolocation in rhinolophoid bats and yangochiropterans. We further suggest that fruit bats never evolved the capacity of laryngeal echolocation. I discuss how ongoing research on the acquisition of, and variability in, cranial features associated with echolocation may further illuminate the debate.

Biography

Dr Laura Wilson completed her BSc at University College London (UCL) and Masters of Research (MRes) in Biosystematics at Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum, before moving to Switzerland to complete her PhD in Natural Sciences at the University of Zurich (Dr.sc.nat). Her doctoral research, supervised by Prof Marcelo Sánchez-Villagra, focused on the evolution of growth and development in caviomorph rodents. She continued her research on ontogenetic evolution in mammals as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at Kyoto University (Japan) before moving to Australia to undertake training in computational biomechanics and 3D modelling techniques at UNSW, where she pursued research as a Swiss (SNF) Postdoctoral Fellow, ARC DECRA Fellow and then Senior Lecturer. Laura was appointed to her current role, as ARC Future Fellow and Senior Lecturer, at ANU in 2021. She also recently joined the ARC Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling and Manufacturing as a Chief Investigator.