Vespertilionidae

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 for 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.

Vespertilionidae

Thomas Bresson · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
vesper batPBDB
Sits inside
VespertilionoideaPBDB
Diet
omnivorePBDB
Life habit
volantPBDB, for Chiroptera
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Chiroptera

Time the record covers

At least 45 million years on record.

The record covers at least 45.9 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 56 Mya to 0 Mya.

Paleocene — about 0 of 376 occurrencesEocene — about 21 of 376 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 13 of 376 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 70 of 376 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 28 of 376 occurrencesPleistocene — about 195 of 376 occurrences57–55 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences55–53 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences53–51 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences51–50 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences50–48 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences48–46 Mya — about 1.0 occurrences46–44 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences44–42 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences42–40 Mya — about 2 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 3 occurrences38–36 Mya — about 5 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 7 occurrences34–32 Mya — about 4 occurrences32–30 Mya — about 3 occurrences30–29 Mya — about 3 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 2 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 1 occurrence25–23 Mya — about 1.0 occurrences23–21 Mya — about 1 occurrence21–19 Mya — about 4 occurrences19–17 Mya — about 7 occurrences17–15 Mya — about 9 occurrences15–13 Mya — about 9 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 10 occurrences11–9.5 Mya — about 10 occurrences9.5–7.6 Mya — about 11 occurrences7.6–5.7 Mya — about 8 occurrences5.7–3.8 Mya — about 17 occurrences3.8–1.9 Mya — about 31 occurrences1.9–0 Mya — about 225 occurrences45.9 Mya11.7 ka57 Mya0 Mya

376 occurrences of Vespertilionidae on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

376 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

46 formations

Valentine — 42.49°N, 98.11°WValentine — 42.70°N, 100.00°WValentine — 42.81°N, 100.05°WValentine — 40.02°N, 98.53°WValentine — 42.78°N, 100.03°WValentine — 42.80°N, 100.80°WChadron — 42.40°N, 103.80°WChadron — 42.75°N, 103.65°WAlachua — 29.65°N, 82.60°WAlachua — 29.70°N, 82.60°WMakapansgat — 24.20°S, 28.95°EPerrière — 44.37°N, 1.73°EPerrière — 44.38°N, 1.43°EKingsdown — 37.20°N, 100.30°WEdelény — 48.39°N, 20.64°EBembridge Limestone — 50.67°N, 1.55°WFleming — 31.10°N, 93.10°WSt. David — 32.00°N, 110.20°WRexroad — 37.20°N, 100.30°WPalm Spring — 32.90°N, 117.10°WShanwang — 36.52°N, 118.54°EBrackwater Molasse — 48.48°N, 10.10°EUpper Freshwater Molasse — 48.66°N, 10.23°EBrule — 40.80°N, 103.10°WSage Creek — 45.00°N, 112.80°WParachucla — 30.20°N, 82.80°WAsh Hollow — 42.63°N, 100.05°WMarks Head — 29.90°N, 82.10°WCalvert — 39.20°N, 75.60°WMadison Valley — 45.93°N, 111.29°WJuntura — 43.60°N, 117.50°WChalk Butte — 43.60°N, 117.50°W

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The named rock units Vespertilionidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 22 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 301 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Vespertilionidae and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Vespertilionidae and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

4,131 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 236 sites for Vespertilionidae, and this reads all of them. Of that, one read hit the database's own return limit, so every count below is a floor rather than a total. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

175 references

Each of the 376 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 163 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Vespertilionidae

Credit
Thomas Bresson
Licence
CC BY 2.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Vespertilionidae indet. · TTU:TTU-M:78296

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itVespertilionoidea through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Gray 1821