Ope`ape`a: Solving the puzzles of Hawaii's only bat

The Hawaiian hoary bat is described as the only land mammal native to Hawaii. In fact, this bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) arrived on the islands some 10,000 years ago – in what must qualify as one of the most spectacular immigrations in the history of mammals. The Hawaiian islands, after all, are 2,400 miles (3,860 kilometers) from the nearest landfall on the North American continent, and the distance to Australia, New Guinea or Asia is even farther.