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Hammer-headed bat: The African megabat that looks like a gargoyle and holds honking pageants

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Name: Hammer-headed bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus)

Where it lives: Lowland forests of West and Central Africa

What it eats: Fruit — including figs, bananas, guavas and mangoes — and flies

Why it's awesome: These "megabats" are the largest in continental Africa. Hammer-headed bats are named after the males' oddly elongated, boxy heads, which contain a large resonating chamber that amplifies their calls. This bizarre head is the product of the bats' unusual mating system.  

Hammer-headed bats are among the few bat species with a lek courtship system — a kind of pageant where up to 150 males gather twice a year to impress females with loud honks and a wing-flapping display. 

Males hang from riverside trees and honk for hours at a time, while females fly by selecting a suitable mate. Females are highly picky, choosing the same 6% of males as mates 79% of the time (meaning the other 94% of males only get lucky once in a blue moon). The loudest honks usually get the most attention, so males have evolved a voice box, or larynx, that takes up around half their body cavity. 

Their larynx is so large it pushes the heart, lungs and intestines back and sideways, according to a 1990 study. 

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