Everything about Vespertilionidae totally explained
Evening bats or, perhaps more correctly,
Vesper bats (family
Vespertilionidae) are the largest and best-known family of
bats. They belong to the suborder Microchiroptera (
microbats). There are over 300 species distributed all over the world, on every continent except
Antarctica. Sometimes the family is called "common bats".
Characteristics
Almost all Vesper bats are
insect-eaters, exceptions being some
Myotis and
Pizonyx that catch
fish and the larger
Nyctalus species that have been known on occasion to catch small
Passerine birds in flight. The
dental formula of vesper bats varies between species:
They rely mainly on
echolocation, but they lack the enlarged noses that some microbats have in order to improve the
ultrasound beam, and instead "shout" through their open mouths to project their ultrasound beam. In compensation many species have relatively large ears.
As a group, Vesper bats cover the full gamut of flight ability with the relatively weak flying
Pipistrellus that have fluttery, almost
insect-like flight to the long winged and fast flying genera such as
Lasiurus,
Nyctalus and
Miniopteris. The family size range is from 3 to 13 cm in length, excluding the tail, which is itself quite long in most species. They are generally brown or grey in color, but some have brightly colored fur, with reds, oranges, and yellows all being known, and many having white patches or stripes.
Most species roost in caves, although some make use of hollow trees, rocky crevices, animal burrows, or other forms of shelter. There is also a great variation in the size of vesper bat colonies, with some roosting alone, and others in groups of anything up to a million individuals. Species native to temperate latitudes typically
hibernate, while a few of the tropical species
aestivate[.
]Classification
Five subfamilies are recognized:
The above grouping of subfamilies is the classification according to Simmons and Geisler (1998). Other authorities raise three subfamilies more: Antrozoinae (which is here the separate family of Pallid bats), Tomopeatinae (now regarded as a subfamily of the Free-tailed bats) and Nyctophilinae (here included in Vespertilioninae).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Vespertilionidae'.
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