Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat families, specialised in many forms to occupy a range of habitats and ecological circumstances, and it is frequently observed or the subject of research. The facial features of the species are often simple, as they mainly rely on vocally emitted echolocation. The tails of the species are enclosed by the lower flight membranes between the legs. Over 300 species are distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica. It owes its name to the genus Vespertilio, which takes its name from a word for bat, vespertilio, derived from the Latin term vesper meaning 'evening'; they are termed "evening bats" and were once referred to as "evening birds".
The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (Myotis) of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "myotis" itself is a Neo-Latin construction, from the Greek "muós and "oûs", literally translating to "mouse-eared".
The silver-tipped myotis is a species of mouse-eared bat found in a range of lowland habitats in the Americas.
The black myotis is a vesper bat species from South and Central America.
The velvety myotis, is a species of vesper bat from South America.
The Angolan hairy bat also known as Angolan wing-gland bat is a species of bat in the Cistugidae family. It can be found in hot deserts in Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.
The Atacama myotis is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in Chile and Peru, an example ecoregion of occurrence being the Chilean matorral.
The Australian myotis is a species of vesper bat. It is found only in Australia. This taxa may not represent a valid species. Only one specimen has ever been documented, supposedly from New South Wales. This specimen may have been mislabelled or a vagrant Myotis muricola or Myotis ater.
The fringed long-footed myotis is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The Yanbaru whiskered bat(Myotis yanbarensis) is a species of vesper bat in the genus Myotis.
Miniopterus, known as the bent-winged or long winged bats, is the sole genus of the family Miniopteridae. They are small flying insectivorous mammals, micro-bats of the order Chiroptera, with wings over twice the length of the body. The genus had been placed in its own subfamily among the vespertilionid bats, as Miniopterinae, but is now classified as its own family.
Rhogeessa is a genus of bats within the vesper bats family, Vespertilionidae.
Antrozoini is a tribe of bats in the subfamily Vespertilioninae of the family Vespertilionidae. It contains the pallid bat, Van Gelder's bat, the genus Rhogeessa, and the fossil Anzanycteris. All species in this tribe are found in the Americas.
The Alcathoe bat is a European bat in the genus Myotis. Known only from Greece and Hungary when it was first described in 2001, its known distribution has since expanded as far as Portugal, England, Sweden, and Russia. It is similar to the whiskered bat and other species and is difficult to distinguish from them. However, its brown fur is distinctive and it is clearly different in characters of its karyotype and DNA sequences. It is most closely related to Myotis hyrcanicus from Iran, but otherwise has no close relatives.
Temminck's mysterious bat is a species of bat of the family Vespertilionidae.
Myotis diminutus is a species of mouse-eared bat found in Ecuador and Colombia. It was recently described as a new species in 2011.
The Nimba myotis, also known as the orange-furred bat or Nimba Mountain bat, is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. The species is endemic to the Nimba Mountains in Guinea, West Africa. It was discovered in 2018 and officially described in 2021 by a team of scientists from the American Museum of Natural History in partnership with a team from The University of Cameroon, which was led by American mammalogist Nancy Simmons.
