Home>>All Animals>>Mammal>>Chiroptera

Chiroptera

Chiroptera generally refers to bats, which are the only mammals that can truly fly; in addition to the characteristics of general mammals, they also have a series of morphological characteristics adapted to flight. Bats have strong flying abilities and are also natural hosts for a variety of zoonotic viruses, capable of carrying dozens of viruses. Bats can be divided into two suborders, with a total of 16 families, 185 genera, and 962 species worldwide, and about 7 families, 30 genera, and 120 species in China.

I. Introduction to Chiroptera

1. General Characteristics:

  • Forelimbs Modified into Wings: Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained, flapping flight. Their elongated fingers support a wing membrane (patagium).

  • Echolocation (Most Species): While most microbats use echolocation to navigate and hunt insects, fruit bats (family Pteropodidae) generally rely more on their well-developed vision and smell, with little or no echolocation.

  • Diverse Diets: Bats occupy a wide range of dietary niches—many are insectivorous, while others consume fruit, nectar, pollen, small vertebrates, fish, and even blood.

  • Ecological Importance: As pollinators, seed dispersers, and insect controllers, bats play vital ecological roles and contribute to the balance of various ecosystems.

2. Diversity and Abundance:

  • With over 1,400 described species, Chiroptera is the second-largest order of mammals after Rodentia.

  • Bats are nearly cosmopolitan, found worldwide except in polar regions and some isolated oceanic islands.


II. Evolutionary History

1. Origin and Fossil Record:

  • The earliest known bat fossils date back to the early Eocene, about 52 million years ago.

  • Fossils indicate that early bats were already well-adapted for flight, sharing key skeletal features with modern bats.

2. Biogeographic Radiation:

  • As continents shifted and climates changed, bats dispersed worldwide and diversified.

  • Old World fruit bats (Pteropodidae) specialized in frugivory and nectarivory, while New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) display a wide range of feeding adaptations (fruits, nectar, insects, blood).

3. Molecular Insights and Revised Classification:

  • Traditionally, bats were split into Megachiroptera ("fruit bats") and Microchiroptera ("microbats"). However, molecular studies showed that this division is not strictly reflective of evolutionary relationships.

  • Current molecular phylogenies divide bats into two major suborders: Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera. Yinpterochiroptera includes the fruit bats and several echolocating families, whereas Yangochiroptera includes the majority of the echolocating bat lineages.


III. Classification Overview

Order Chiroptera

Suborder Yinpterochiroptera

FamilyRepresentative Genera/SpeciesNotes
Pteropodidae (Old World fruit bats)Pteropus (flying foxes)Primarily frugivorous/nectarivorous, rely on vision and smell; mainly in Old World tropics.
Rhinolophidae (Horseshoe bats)RhinolophusCharacteristic horseshoe-shaped noseleaf; echolocating insectivores in the Old World.
Hipposideridae (Leaf-nosed bats)HipposiderosSimilar to Rhinolophidae, echolocation via noseleaf structures, Old World distribution.
Rhinonycteridae (Trident and related bats)Triaenops and relativesOld World leaf-nosed bats closely related to Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae.
Megadermatidae (False vampire bats)MegadermaSome species feed on small vertebrates; tailless, Old World distribution.
Craseonycteridae (Kitti’s hog-nosed bat)Craseonycteris thonglongyaiOne of the world’s smallest mammals, found in Thailand and Myanmar.

Suborder Yangochiroptera

FamilyRepresentative Genera/SpeciesNotes
Emballonuridae (Sheath-tailed bats)Taphozous (sac-winged bats)Possess wing sacs; insectivorous.
Nycteridae (Slit-faced bats)Nycteris (slit-faced bats)Complex nose structures, Old World insectivores.
Myzopodidae (Sucker-footed bats)MyzopodaEndemic to Madagascar; have suction cups on thumbs and ankles.
Mystacinidae (New Zealand short-tailed bats)Mystacina tuberculataUnique terrestrial foraging habits, endemic to New Zealand.
Thyropteridae (Disk-winged bats)ThyropteraSuction-cup structures on wings for clinging to leaves, Neotropical.
Furipteridae (Smoky bats)Furipterus horrensReduced thumbs enclosed in wing membrane, Neotropical.
Noctilionidae (Bulldog or Fishing bats)Noctilio (bulldog bats)Some species catch fish; found in the New World.
Mormoopidae (Mustached and Ghost-faced bats)Mormoops, PteronotusComplex facial folds, insectivorous, New World.
Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats)Desmodus (vampire bats), Glossophaga (nectar-feeding)Diverse diets: fruits, nectar, insects, blood; Neotropical.
Natalidae (Funnel-eared bats)NatalusFunnel-shaped ears, found from Mexico to South America.
Molossidae (Free-tailed bats)Molossus, Tadarida brasiliensisStrong fliers, tail extends beyond tail membrane, cosmopolitan.
Vespertilionidae (Evening bats)Nyctalus noctula, Lasionycteris noctivagansThe largest family of bats, worldwide distribution, mostly insectivorous.
Miniopteridae (Bent-winged bats)MiniopterusDistinctive wing joints, widely distributed in Old and New Worlds.
Cistugidae (Wing-gland bats)CistugoOnce included in Vespertilionidae, now recognized as a distinct family in Africa.

IV. Summary

Bats represent a remarkable evolutionary success, showcasing adaptations for powered flight, echolocation, and a wide range of feeding habits. Since their Eocene origins, bats have radiated globally to exploit niches from tropical rainforests to deserts. Whether pollinating flowers, dispersing seeds, controlling insect populations, or innovatively feeding on fish or blood, bats illustrate the profound evolutionary creativity that arises over millions of years.

Carnivora Primates Rodents Chiroptera Eulipotyphla Ungulata Cetacea Lagoiformes Pholidota Proboscidea Monotremata
Rhinolophus marshalli

Rhinolophus marshalli

Lesser Brown Rhinolophus

Features:The ear shell is wide and long, and the antitragus is well developed and slightly triangular.

Rhinolophus maculata is a small cave bat. It has been seen living in the same cave with Rhinolophus sinicus, Rhinolophus pusillus, Hipposideros pomona, etc. It is an insectivorous bat that hibernates. Rhinolophus maculata belongs to the <philippinesis>-<group> and is easily confused with...

Big-eared Horseshoe Bat

Big-eared Horseshoe Bat

Big-eared Horseshoe Bat

Features:The body size is small, the ears are large, the hooves of the nose lobes are broad, the middle is obviously engraved, and the two sides of the front have small appendages.

Rhinolophus macroetalis is a bat of the genus Rhinolophidae. It lives in small numbers in caves and commutes with other bats, generally staying on the edge of caves or on the top wall of rocks near the entrance. Feeds on nocturnal flying insects.This species contains 3 subspecies in China and has a...

Rhinolophus luctus

Rhinolophus luctus

Rhinolophus luctus;woolly horseshoe bat

Features:The largest species of horseshoe bat in China, it lives alone or in pairs and is very rare.

The Great Rhinolophus lives in caves, often sharing a cave with other species of Rhinolophus and Hoofed Bats, but always hangs alone on the cave ceiling, and most of them are in a brighter place not far from the cave entrance. One captured in Suichuan, Jiangxi, was hanging less than 3m above the gro...

Rhinolophus huananus

Rhinolophus huananus

Rhinolophus chinensis

Features:The ears are large, with a correspondingly small antitragus.

The number of South China Rhinolophus is relatively rare, and it is a cave-type bat. It can be seen living in the same cave with Chinese Rhinolophus (<Rhinolophus sinicus>), small-footed bat (<Hipposideros pomona>), big-eared Rhinolophus (<R. macrotis>), etc. Before the publication...

Greater Horseshoe Bat

Greater Horseshoe Bat

Greater Horseshoe Bat

Features:The ears are large and slightly broad, with pointed ends

There are species of mouse-eared bat and Oriental bat in the roost cave. During the day and night, sleep between stone cracks or wall cracks during the day, hanging alone on the stone wall, hanging with two limbs and upside down on the stone wall, forelimbs wrapped around the body, when external sou...

Rhinolophus medius

Rhinolophus medius

Rhinolophus affinis

Features:The posterior nasal concavity is obvious and the palate bridge is the shortest.

The middle horseshoe bat is a common cave bat species. It lives in moist caves, abandoned mines, tunnels, etc. It can live in the same cave with the big-footed bat (<Hipposideros armiger>), the small horseshoe bat (<Rhinolophus pusillus>), the Pi's horseshoe bat (<R. pearsonii>...

Malayan false vampire bat

Malayan false vampire bat

Features:There is a prominent longitudinal ridge in the center of the nose

This species belongs to the subgenus <Megaderma>. Bergmans & Bree (1986) discussed the subspecies differentiation in Indonesia. The specimens found by Zhang Libiao et al. (2010) in Mengla County, Yunnan Province, have morphological characteristics consistent with the main characteristics o...

Megaderma lyra

Megaderma lyra

Megaderma lyra

Features:No blood-sucking habit

The Indian false vampire bat usually moves in groups of dozens and does not mix with other bats. It is carnivorous and feeds on insects, spiders, and small vertebrates (such as small fish, frogs, birds, mice, and even other species of bats). It often flies within 3 meters of the ground to find food,...

Rousettus leschenaulti

Rousettus leschenaulti

Rousettus leschenaulti、Leschenault's rousette

Features:Dog-like face, oval ears

Brown fruit bats are typical tropical bats that do not hibernate. Although they often live in the same cave with other bats, they never mix with them. In addition, in caves where fruit bats live, fruit bats dominate the population, which seems to be a phenomenon of interspecies exclusion. In the hot...

Desmodus

Desmodus

Desmodus

Features:It is the only mammal that can fly in the sky and feeds on blood.

Vampire bats (scientific name: Desmodus) are a general term for all species of vampire bats in the family Desmodus. There are three species of vampire bats belonging to the family Desmodus and the genus Desmodus. Vampire bats are small in size, have no exposed tail, and their fur is mainly dark brow...

Penthetor lucasi

Penthetor lucasi

Short-nosed fruit bat, Canis familiaris

Features:Small and cute

Dog bats are a single genus of the genus Short-nosed fruit bat of the order Chiroptera and family Pteropodidae. Other mammals in the same family as the Short-nosed fruit bat include Andreas Annii, Paratuberculate fruit bat, and Big-eared fruit bat. ’Dog bats are a type of bat that looks like a pupp...

Taphozous melanopogon

Taphozous melanopogon

Taphozous melanopogon

Features:

The black-bearded tomb bat (Taphozous melanopogon), also known as the black-bearded sheath-tailed bat, is a member of the sheath-tailed bat family. The black-bearded tomb bat clusters in the cracks of the cave, or lies on the rock wall in the cave, hiding in the deep cracks by retreating. It can be...

Macroglossus sobrinus

Macroglossus sobrinus

Macroglossus sobrinus

Features:Very short tail, very narrow teeth

Andersen's long-tongued fruit bat (<M. sobrinus>) was named by Andersen (1911) based on the specimens of Gunong Igari, Malaysia. It was originally considered to be a subspecies of the small long-tongued fruit bat (<M. m. sobrinus>). However, Medway (1969) believed that Andersen's...

Eonycteris spelaea

Eonycteris spelaea

CHIROPTERA

Features:The tongue is very long, with a brush-like protrusion on the tip and a tricuspid papilla in the center of the tongue.

The tongue of the long-tongued fruit bat is very long, with a brush-like protrusion at the tip, a tridentate papillae in the center of the tongue, and a forearm length of 47.31-51.01 mm. It is similar to the long-tongued fruit bat (Eonycteris spelaea), but the second finger has a claw, the wing memb...