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Greater mouse-eared bat and Natterer's bat roosting

Vesper bats

Vesper bats are the largest bat family with over 300 species, all of which can echolocate. They are widespread and found in every habitat except the cold polar regions. Those that live in temperate areas may migrate away or hibernate through the winter, when few insects are available to eat. All British bats are in this family apart from horseshoes.

Scientific name: Vespertilionidae

Rank: Family

Common names:

Evening bats

Distribution

Map showing the distribution of the Vesper bats taxa

The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

The Vesper bats can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Mediterranean, North America, Russia, South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Explore this group

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

When they lived

Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.

About

Vesper bats (family Vespertilionidae), also known as evening bats or common bats, are the largest and best-known family of bats. They belong to the suborder Microchiroptera (microbats). Over 300 species are distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica. It owes its name to the Latin word vespertilio ("bat"), from vesper, meaning "evening".

Read more at Wikipedia

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Classification

  1. Life
  2. Animals
  3. Vertebrates
  4. Mammals
  5. Bats
  6. Vesper bats

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