Kathrin Barboza Marquez

Get to know

Kathrin is a biologist who discovered a species of bat and gained her superpowers after touching the rare and mysterious bat. Her abilities to map the world around her by using sound help her fight crime!

The drawing of a bug on her superhero outfit is an ectoparasite. These are parasites, such as a flea, that live on the outside of their hosts. Kathrin conducted a study of ectoparasites on the bat population of the savanna.

In this fact-file find out why we turned Kathrin into a Superhero

Kathrin was born, and grew up in Cochabamba, Bolivia

In 2006, Kathrin went on a year-long expedition to track down the sword-nosed bat. The species was believed to be extinct in Bolivia. the team rediscovered the bat.

Kathrin worked with her mentor Aideé Vargas to track down the sword-nosed bat.

Sonic Interference interferes with Kathrin's ability to release sound waves (sonar).

Born: 1983
Occupation: Biologist

Kathrin became interested in bats while studying at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón. As a student, she researched the reproductive patterns of fruit bats for her thesis and went on a year-long expedition to track down the Nariz de Espada (the sword-nosed bat), a species believed to have become extinct in Bolivia. Kathrin has created one of the first libraries of echolocation frequencies for insectivorous bats in Bolivia and in 2010 was awarded the National Geographic's "Young Explorer Grant".

Kathrin is a Bolivian biologist and expert in bat research.

Kathrin Barboza Marquez

Biologists study humans, animals, plants and bacteria to gain a better understanding of how the body and nature works, and how external factors may influence each organism. There are many sub-branches of biology you could choose to explore.

Biologists can work in macroscopic (objects that are measurable and visible to the naked eye) or microscopic (requires microscopes to view the objects) biology.

Video credit: SciShow Kids

The world's largest bat is called the "flying fox" (Pteropus bats). It has a wingspan of up to 6 feet.

Most bats have only one pup (baby) a year, making them extremely vulnerable to extinction.

Take a look at how many common bat misconceptions came about and just how vital bats are to our everyday lives.

Find out cool facts about bats—from how and where they live, to what they eat and how they talk to each other.

Video credit: National Geographic

Video credit National Geographic Kids

Watch this video to find out how bats "see" the world around them as they look for prey in the dark.

Video credit: SciToons

Bats make up a quarter of all mammals. There are more than 1,100 species of bats in the world!

Bats 'see' in the dark using a special skill called echolocation.

Bat Facts!

STEP 1: Set up your experiment on a table.

STEP 2: Tape down the paper towel rolls so that they are angled towards each other but not touching.

STEP 3: Place the aluminum pie plate on its edge facing the tubes but 12 inchdes away from the tubes. Tape it down.

STEP 4: Have one person whisper into one of the tubes.

STEP 5: The other person should listen for the sound to bounce off the pie plate and come back through the other tube (the tube not whispered into).

When sounds bounce off an object, the bat gets information about the texture, shape, size, and location of the object. The bat is using echolocation.

Want to discover more? Dive into the world of our science superheroes

Kathrin features in our card game: Top Quarkz

Discover our free educational resources and activities

Bats: Level 3 - by Elizabeth Carney

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