The bat family tree has been redrawn. The first members of the group appear to have emerged in Europe about 65 million years ago. Earlier hypotheses placed their origin in Asia. Others pointed to Africa or the Americas. The new study also suggests that powered flight and echolocation were present almost from the beginning.
Published in Nature, the study combines 103 high-quality genomes with 44 fossils from around the world. Together, they give researchers a fuller view of bat evolution than genetic or fossil evidence could provide on its own. A UCD release distributed through EurekAlert says the dataset includes 42 new chromosome-level assemblies, a particularly detailed format for comparative analysis of bat evolution, as well as representatives of all 21 recognised bat families.
Europe was not the final destination of this lineage. It was the starting point. From the first European population, descendants spread into Africa and formed a Euro-African centre. They later reached Asia, the Americas and Australia.
The result changes more than a location on an evolutionary map.
Bats are the only mammals capable of true powered flight. Most of their more than 1,500 species use echolocation to handle and hunt in darkness. They make up roughly one-fifth of all living mammals. They pollinate plants. They also disperse seeds and consume large quantities of insects.
Sci.News reported that a statistical model estimated a 99.2% probability that the first bats originated in Europe. This does not prove the scenario absolutely; the conclusion depends on interpreting genomic and paleontological evidence together.
The researchers point to the fossil genus Vielasia as an impressive clue. Its position on the oldest branch of the bat family tree suggests that powered flight and echolocation were already present very close to the group's origin. The two abilities that set bats apart from other mammals were not late additions. They were early foundations of the group. In its account of the work, Stony Brook University also says these traits probably appeared during the earliest stages of bat evolution.
The genetic dataset covers species from all 21 currently recognised bat families. Researchers assembled it through the international Bat1K project, which aims to build genomic information for bat species and clarify how this exceptionally diverse group evolved. The project brought together researchers from institutions including the University of St Andrews and Stony Brook University. University College Dublin and Museum für Naturkunde Berlin also took part.
Spain was represented by the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC) and the University of Granada. Researchers used advanced DNA sequencing and computer methods to compare the genomes. They then combined the results with fossils collected around the world.
The sample includes some of the most unusual bats alive today. It contains bumblebee bats from Thailand and Myanmar, which many consider the smallest mammals on Earth. The sample also includes Madagascar's sucker-footed bats. New Zealand's lesser short-tailed bat is represented too. That species uses its folded wings as front limbs when moving across the forest floor.
The breadth of the dataset gives researchers a way to compare the genetic changes behind the group's unusual variety. They are especially interested in adaptations linked to unusually long lifespans for an animal's size and resistance to certain diseases. The findings do not yet offer human treatments, but they provide a basis for studying ageing and immunity, including disease resistance.
The study brings together two kinds of evidence that have often led to different conclusions. Genomes show how living species are related; fossils place those relationships in time and space. Used together, they place Vielasia and other ancient bats within a firmer evolutionary structure and give researchers a clearer way to trace when distinctive traits appeared.
Europe now occupies the opening chapter of a lineage that later spread across nearly the entire planet. The 103 genomes and 44 fossils make the revised history a working research tool, allowing scientists to test which genetic changes produced flight and echolocation. They can also investigate changes linked to longevity and disease resistance. The findings indicate that bats' defining biology was already in place near the start of their history, giving future research a foundation.
