Species group · Mammals

Bats

WAnimals has 29 species of bat, spread across 11 families (Craseonycteridae, Emballonuridae, Megadermatidae, Miniopteridae, Molossidae, Mormoopidae, Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae, Pteropodidae, Rhinolophidae, Vespertilionidae).

29 species
11 families
156 countries
470 parks
Weight
2 g – 170 g
Length
2.9 cm – 17 cm
Lifespan
4 – 22 years

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 29.

All 29 species of bats on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Greater Horseshoe BatLeast Concern

Greater Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

51 countries98 parks
Near Threatened

Grey Long-Eared Bat

Plecotus austriacus

46 countries122 parks
Vulnerable

Schreiber's Bent-winged Bat

Miniopterus schreibersii

22 countries105 parks
Least Concern

Greater Bulldog Bat

Noctilio leporinus

18 countries57 parks
Least Concern

Greater Mouse-eared Bat

Myotis myotis

46 countries139 parks
Least Concern

Serotine

Eptesicus serotinus

47 countries76 parks
Least Concern

Common Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus pipistrellus

53 countries145 parks
Least Concern

Lesser Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus hipposideros

46 countries111 parks
Least Concern

Natterer's Bat

Myotis nattereri

45 countries187 parks
Least Concern

Greater False Vampire

Megaderma lyra

11 countries23 parks
Least Concern

Pallas's Mastiff Bat

Molossus molossus

17 countries65 parks
Least Concern

Pallas's Long-Tongued Bat

Glossophaga soricina

16 countries64 parks
Least Concern

Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat

Artibeus jamaicensis

17 countries17 parks
Near Threatened

Bechstein's Bat

Myotis bechsteinii

36 countries157 parks
Least Concern

North American Hoary Bat

Lasiurus cinereus

10 countries6 parks
Least Concern

Greater Sac-Winged Bat

Saccopteryx bilineata

16 countries68 parks
Least Concern

Seba's Short-tailed Bat

Carollia perspicillata

18 countries79 parks
Least Concern

Mexican Free-tailed Bat

Tadarida brasiliensis

5 countries17 parks
Least Concern

Big Brown Bat

Eptesicus fuscus

8 countries45 parks
Critically Endangered

Little Brown Bat

Myotis lucifugus

2 countries46 parks
Least Concern

Egyptian Rousette

Rousettus aegyptiacus

61 countries18 parks
Near Threatened

Lesser Long-nosed Bat

Leptonycteris yerbabuenae

5 countries12 parks
Endangered

Madeira Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus maderensis

2 countries5 parks
Near Threatened

Indiana Bat

Myotis sodalis

1 country8 parks
Least Concern

European Free-Tailed Bat

Tadarida teniotis

13 countries1 park
Least Concern

Ghost-Faced Bat

Mormoops megalophylla

12 countries
Least Concern

Greater Shortnosed Fruit Bat

Cynopterus sphinx

14 countries
Least Concern

Brown Long-eared Bat

Plecotus auritus

7 countries
Near Threatened

Hog-nosed Bat

Craseonycteris thonglongyai

2 countries

Conservation status

21 Least Concern5 Near Threatened1 Vulnerable1 Critically Endangered1 Endangered

3 especies in this group están en alguna categoría de riesgo real según la UICN.

See the global conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 156 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…

  • It is the largest horseshoe bat in Europe.

    From Greater Horseshoe Bat

  • It emits ultrasound through its nose rather than its mouth, unlike most bats.

    From Greater Horseshoe Bat

  • It hibernates wrapped in its own wings, hanging in tight clusters from October to April.

    From Greater Horseshoe Bat

  • Its ears are nearly half the length of its body, and it folds them away at rest.

    From Grey Long-Eared Bat

  • It creates genuine graveyards of prey: it carries each moth back to its perch to eat and the discarded wings pile up underneath.

    From Grey Long-Eared Bat

  • Its echolocation is so faint that it barely reaches five metres, which lets it hunt without being detected by moths with ultrasonic receptors.

    From Grey Long-Eared Bat

  • Its extraordinarily long wing fingers fold back at rest, which is where its genus name comes from.

    From Schreiber's Bent-winged Bat

  • Genetic studies revealed that it is in fact a complex of distinct cryptic species.

    From Schreiber's Bent-winged Bat

Ecosystems

See every species group · Explore the species one by one