Calcar
Encyclopedia
The calcar, also known as the calcaneum , is the name given to a spur
Spur
A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids and to back up the natural aids . The spur is used in every equestrian discipline...

 of cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...

 arising from inner side of ankle and running along part of outer interfemoral membrane
Interfemoral membrane
The interfemoral membrane, or uropatagium, is the membrane that stretches between the legs of bats, used for flight, and in the case of insect-eating bats, for catching prey.- External links :*...

 in bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

s , this is to help spread the interfemoral membrane , which is part of the wing membrane between the tail and the hind legs.

This membrane can form a basket or pouch to help catch and hold insects captured in flight . The oldest known ancestor to present day bats, Icaronycteris index
Icaronycteris
Icaronycteris is an extinct genus of microchiropteran bat that lived in the early Eocene, approximately 52.2 million years ago. Four exceptionally preserved specimens are known from the Green River Formation of North America. There is only one thoroughly described species of bat in the genus, I...

, apparently did not have a calcar or spur as evidenced by fossil remains..

Calcar (Femorale) also refers to the dense, vertically orientated bone present in the posteroemedial region of the femoral shaft under the lesser trochanter of the femur.
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