Archive · 24 Sep 2026
Study Traces Bat Origins to Europe 65 Million Years Ago
Scientists studied the genes of bats alive today and the bones of bats that lived long ago.
They used this information to build a family tree for bats.
Their results suggest that the ancestors of modern bats lived in Europe about 65 million years ago.
This was about 65 million years ago, after the asteroid extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs.
Older ideas had placed bat origins on other continents.
The researchers think bats learned to fly and use echolocation very early.
Echolocation means making sounds and listening for echoes to find objects.
An ancient bat called Vielasia appears to have had features linked to echolocation.
Scientists still do not know whether flight or echolocation evolved first.
The findings may help researchers study why bats live so long and resist some diseases.
A Nature study suggests modern bats originated in Europe about 65 million years ago.
Researchers combined genomes from 103 living bat species with fossils from 44 species.
The findings challenge earlier theories placing bat origins in Africa, Asia, North America, the Americas, or Australia.
The study indicates powered flight and echolocation evolved near the beginning of bat evolution.
The research involved 137 scientists from 64 countries through the Bat1K consortium.
- Who
- A team of 137 researchers from 64 countries, working through the Bat1K consortium and co-led by Liliana M. Dávalos, Sonja Vernes, and Emma Teeling.
- What
- A study reconstructed bat evolution and concluded that bats likely originated in Europe about 65 million years ago, with flight and echolocation evolving very early.
- When
- The study was published in Nature on 23 September 2026 and places bat origins in the Late Paleocene, roughly 65 million years ago.
- Where
- The study places the ancestor of modern bats in Europe, with Africa also identified as a hub of early bat evolution.
- Why
- Researchers sought to determine when and where bats originated and how their defining abilities, including flight and echolocation, evolved.
New Study Findings
Earlier Theories and Remaining Uncertainty
Location of bat origins
New Study Findings
The study’s combined genome, fossil, anatomical, and evolutionary modeling places the ancestor of modern bats in Europe about 65 million years ago.
Earlier Theories and Remaining Uncertainty
Earlier theories had placed bat origins in Africa, Asia, North America, the broader Americas, or Australia.
Timing of echolocation
New Study Findings
The researchers say fossils on the oldest branch of the bat family tree, including Vielasia, show features indicating that echolocation evolved very early.
Earlier Theories and Remaining Uncertainty
The evidence does not establish exactly whether flight or echolocation evolved first because the oldest known bat fossils appear to have had both abilities.
Evidence for early flight
New Study Findings
The study finds that early bats had features of powered flight, suggesting flight emerged near the dawn of bat evolution.
Earlier Theories and Remaining Uncertainty
Researchers say the ancestors of bats and the transition from non-flying forms remain uncertain because the oldest known fossils already resemble modern bats.
- Publication
- Nature
- Proposed origin
- Europe, approximately 65 million years ago
- Living bat genomes examined
- 103 species representing all 21 recognized bat families
- Fossil bat species examined
- 44 species
- Research team
- 137 researchers from 64 countries
- Research consortium
- Bat1K
- Ancient bat highlighted
- Vielasia
