Pyrithian bat A Pyrithian bat was a flying mammal with white fur and primarily dieted on snow beetle s and moth larva e , only eating live food . The bat ' s natural predator was the Pyrithian moon hawk . Doctor Phlox kept a pet female Pyrithian bat among his many animal s aboard . History . In 2151 , Phlox suggested to feed Sluggo to his bat before Sluggo died . This didn ' t go ahead , although neither did Sluggo consequently die while in Phlox ' s captivity . ( ) Later that year , while musing about Human s ' unique affinity for indulging an emotion al bond with pets , Phlox admitted to himself that he had talked to his Pyrithian bat . ( ) In 2152 , while Captain Archer spent a night in sickbay , the doctor ' s bat got out . The two spent part of the night trying to capture it , and Phlox made a paper Pyrithian moon hawk and tried to impersonate the call of it to scare the bat . It was less than successful , but Hoshi Sato was able to catch it relatively simply . ( ) In 2153 , when Phlox was affected by Borg nanoprobe s , Hoshi Sato picked up some Vulcan sandworm s for him from the galley and fed them to his bat . ( ) In the Delphic Expanse , Phlox offered Malcolm Reed some of his bat ' s moth larvae to eat , after Reed had transformed back from being Loque ' eque , and still found his stomach was sensitive to Human food . ( ) Phlox later used his bat as a distraction while he dispatched a Triannon guard in November of 2153 . ( ) He claimed that there was no antidote for its venom , though it was not actually venomous . ( ) He told the bat not to bite his fingers again while feeding it a moth larvae , just before he ate one himself . ( ) Background information . Origins of name . The use of the term " Pyrithian " was originally introduced in in association with the Pyrithian Gorge , located on the Talaxian homeworld , in the Delta Quadrant . Since the Pyrithian bat and Pyrithian moon hawk , two species known to the Denobulan s , were presumably native to a planet in the Alpha or Beta Quadrant , it would seem apparent that this term was not related , and was simply used by two distinct cultures , such as the term " Darmok " . Scripts . In the writers ' first draft script of " Dear Doctor " , the Pyrithian bat that Phlox kept as a pet was a male rather than a female . When Hoshi Sato arrived in his sickbay ( at the start of the episode ' s first act ) , Phlox told her that she had just missed her chance to feed the creature ( whose species name was misspelled " Pirythian bat " ) . Sato readily accepted this news , telling Phlox that the last time she had fed the animal , it had become " a little jumpy " around her . However , Phlox reminded her the animal only bit males . Nonetheless , Sato was skeptical the creature could tell the difference between the genders of whoever fed it . In the final draft script of " A Night in Sickbay " , the Pyrithian bat was described as " large " and " dark blue . " In ultimately omitted dialogue from the final draft script of , Phlox mentioned to T ' Pol that his Pyrithian bat was in heat and that , as a result , it very often made a " cooing " noise that Phlox described as " incessant " and " trying . " Reference works . According to " " ( p . 44 ) and " " ( " Federation Historical Highlights , 2161 - 2385 " ) , there was a star system named Pyrithia ( ) , which might possibly be the system of origin for this species , in the Alpha Quadrant . This was a trinary system with a , an M - class star , and a K - class star . This system was a destination on a Denobulan trade route in the 22nd century .