Scientific Correspondence
Nature 398, 759-760 (29 April 1999) | doi:10.1038/19648
Acoustic guide in bat-pollinated flower
Dagmar von Helversen1 & Otto von Helversen1
Several hundred species of neotropical plants are pollinated by glossophagine bats1,2. These bats use their highly developed sonar system for orientation, so we might expect bat-pollinated flowers to have evolved acoustically conspicuous structures to make them easier to detect. We find that the bat-pollinated neotropical vine Mucuna holtonii directs its echolocating pollinators to its flowers by means of an acoustic nectar guide. The flower contains a small concave 'mirror' that works like an optical cat's eye, but in the acoustic domain, reflecting most of the energy of the bats' echolocation calls back into the direction of incidence.
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Zoological Institute, University of Erlangen, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
e-mail: Email: helver@biologie.uni-erlangen.de
