Can Owl Ears Instead of Echolocation Guarantee Life in Cave Colonies?

In an alternate Earth, there are no bats. Instead, there are "flying monkeys" (which are actually lemuriform primates, rather like bushbabies or lorises.) And even though they have batlike ears, they don't echolocate. Instead, they hear their way through the nightscape a bit more like owls--their outer ears may be symmetrical, but their inner ear bones aren't. This would allow them to accurately judge the distance of their prey. And just as we humans can be either left- or right-handed, a flying monkey can be either left- or right-eared.

But could this sort of adaptation be useful for roosting in huge colonies on cave ceilings, like some bat species do?

posted about 5 years ago

JohnWDailey‭

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