Landmark Bat Genome Study Places Origins in Europe 65 Million Years Ago

Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, and with more than 1,500 species they make up over one-fifth of all mammals on Earth. For decades, paleontologists and geneticists have disagreed about where the group first appeared. A landmark study published on 23 September 2026 in the journal Nature concludes that bats originated in Europe about 65 million years ago, during the late Palaeocene, and that powered flight arose there too. The finding overturns the long-held view that bats emerged in Africa, Asia or North America.

The research is phase 1 of Bat1K, a consortium launched in 2017 that aims to sequence the genomes of all of the roughly 1,500 living bat species. The project brought together 137 researchers from 64 countries. They combined chromosome-level genomes from 103 bat species with 44 pre-Quaternary fossils, most of them teeth, unearthed across the globe. The result is the largest study ever of bat genome research combined with bat fossils, according to a Stony Brook University release.

Scientists had previously placed the bat origin in Africa, Asia or North America. The new analysis refutes African and North American origins. After their European origin, the earliest bat ancestors dispersed into Africa and then expanded onwards to Asia, the Americas and Australia. The study also shows that echolocation, like flight, evolved near the dawn of bat evolution, rather than appearing later in only some lineages.

The work is important because bats are unusual among mammals. They host viruses such as Ebola, Nipah and Marburg without becoming sick themselves, and some species can live close to 40 years, far longer than their body size would predict. Their genomes are the smallest of any mammal, at about 2 Gb. Understanding how bats achieve this could inform human research on ageing, immunity and disease resistance.

Key Facts

The Guardian reported on September 23, 2026 that the study combined ancient bat fossils and genomic data from living species to rebuild the bat family tree. The team analysed chromosome-level, long-read genome assemblies from 103 bat species, including 42 new assemblies, of which 26 were haplotype-resolved. Those species represent all 21 currently recognised bat families, plus eight non-bat outgroups, for 111 species in total.

Nature reported on September 23, 2026 that the researchers integrated a morphological dataset of 699 characters for 65 species, including the 44 pre-Quaternary fossils and representatives of most living bat families, with neutrally evolving genomic sites. Fossilised birth-death and dispersal-extinction cladogenesis analyses showed that bats, and thus powered flight, probably originated in Europe in the late Palaeocene. The paper explicitly refutes African and North American origins.

Newswise reported on September 23, 2026 that the study generated the first-ever reconstruction of the genome of the ancestor of all living bats. Chromosomal ancestral-state reconstructions supported 26 ancestral bat chromosomes. The revised phylogeny resolves relationships among Yangochiroptera, places Myzopodidae as the earliest branch within Vespertilionoidea, identifies Emballonuroidea and Vespertilionoidea as sister groups, and confirms monophyly of Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera while refuting monophyly of the echolocating Microchiroptera.

The placement of the fossil Vielasia in the oldest Eochiroptera clade indicates that laryngeal echolocation predates crown-bat diversification. The paper notes that bats have the smallest mammalian genomes, about 2 Gb, and can live 8 to 10 times longer than expected for their size with few signs of ageing or cancer. Some species can live close to 40 years. Authors include Ariadna E. Morales, Liliana M. Davalos, Michael Hiller and Emma C. Teeling.

The Guardian reported on September 23, 2026 that Sarah Olson, one of the study's authors and director of health research at the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society, said the findings provide a kind-of code book of life for understanding how bats tolerate viruses such as Ebola, Nipah and Marburg without getting sick themselves. Co-author Liliana Davalos, a conservation biologist at Stony Brook University in New York, noted that all but one bat species have very small litters of one or two pups, so populations cannot quickly recover when individuals die. About half of known bat species have unknown or decreasing populations, with 18% considered threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Analysis

The bigger picture here is that this study does not simply move a pin on a map. It rewrites the deep history of the mammal family tree by placing the origin of bats and powered flight in Europe during the late Palaeocene, roughly 65 million years ago, at a time when the continent was a warm, forested archipelago. The combination of 103 chromosome-level genomes and 44 fossils gives the conclusion unusual weight, because genetic data alone can suggest relationships but fossils anchor them in time and place.

The finding that laryngeal echolocation predates crown-bat diversification is equally significant. For years, researchers debated whether echolocation evolved once or multiple times. The placement of Vielasia in the oldest Eochiroptera clade supports a single early origin, followed by later losses or modifications in some lineages. The revised phylogeny also cleans up long-standing confusion, such as the non-monophyly of Microchiroptera, a group that had been defined by echolocation but is now shown to be artificial.

The reconstruction of 26 ancestral bat chromosomes and the first genome of the ancestor of all living bats provide a reference point for future work. What this really means is that scientists now have a framework to compare genomes across all bat families and to trace how traits such as flight, echolocation, longevity and disease resistance evolved. The small genome size of about 2 Gb and the ability of some bats to live close to 40 years make them a natural experiment in ageing and immunity.

The study also underscores how much remains unknown. Although bats account for more than one-fifth of all mammals, about half of known species have unknown or decreasing populations. The genomic resource created by Bat1K phase 1 can help conservationists identify populations at risk, but it cannot replace habitat protection. The 18% of bat species considered threatened by the IUCN is a reminder that the same animals that inspire advances in medicine are themselves vulnerable.

Why It Matters

For evolutionary biology, the study settles a long-running debate about bat origins and provides the first genome of the common ancestor of all living bats. It shows that powered flight and echolocation appeared near the dawn of the group in Europe, not in Africa, Asia or North America. That changes how scientists interpret the fossil record and how they reconstruct the early dispersal of mammals after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

For human health, the work offers a kind-of code book of life, as Sarah Olson of the Wildlife Conservation Society put it. Bats tolerate Ebola, Nipah and Marburg without getting sick, and they live far longer than their size predicts with few signs of cancer. By identifying the genes behind these traits, researchers hope to learn something about human ageing, immunity and disease resistance. The potential implications are substantial, though any medical applications remain years away.

For conservation, the findings add urgency. All but one bat species have litters of only one or two pups, so populations recover slowly from declines. With 18% of bat species threatened and about half showing unknown or decreasing populations, the new genomic tools could help target protection where it is most needed. The study is a scientific achievement, but it also highlights how much biodiversity is at stake.

Next Up

Bat1K aims to sequence the genomes of all roughly 1,500 living bat species, and phase 1 covers 103. Future phases will add more chromosome-level assemblies and expand the fossil record, refining the timing and geography of early bat evolution. Researchers also plan to use the ancestral genome reconstruction to study the genetic basis of flight, echolocation and longevity.

The consortium's work is expected to feed into functional studies of bat immunity and ageing, with possible implications for human medicine. As more genomes and fossils are analysed, the picture of how bats spread from Europe to Africa and then worldwide will become sharper. For now, the 23 September 2026 Nature paper stands as the largest-ever genomic study of bats and a major revision of the mammal family tree.