Is the structure of bat echolocation calls an adaptation to the mammalian hearing system

A common feature of most bat echolocation calls is their hyperbolalike frequency modulation. It is proposed that these calls evolved as an adaptation to the filters in the peripheral hearing system. From an analysis of 420 echolocation sounds of Eptesicus fuscus, the bandwidths of filters giving a minimal error of time‐delay estimation are predicted; these could be compared to neurophysiological findings.