Bat Genes Rewritten: Mystery of Origins Solved

The biological history of bats is being significantly revised by a comprehensive new study. This extensive analysis of bat genomes and fossils, the largest of its kind, suggests that bats first appeared in Europe around 65 million years ago. The research, published in Nature, indicates that the remarkable ability of echolocation evolved early in bat lineage, preceding the diversification of the numerous families known today.

The study also unveils a novel evolutionary tree for bats, challenging some long-held conclusions about inter-family relationships. For instance, sucker-footed bats from Madagascar have been reclassified, now grouped with globally distributed superfamilies like vesper bats. This new phylogenetic tree provides a crucial foundation for further scientific exploration into the genetic underpinnings of bat superpowers, including flight and disease resistance, as part of the ongoing Bat1K project.