The most likely bat origin shifts to Europe 65–60 million years ago

An international team combined genomes from all 21 living bat families with fossil evidence and reconstructed Europe as the most likely origin of bats.

The estimate of roughly 65–60 million years ago is a model result, not physical proof that alternative origins in Africa, Asia or North America are impossible.

Why the dataset changed the tree

The study used chromosome-level genomes from 103 species, including 42 new assemblies. It added 699 anatomical characters across 65 living and extinct species and 44 pre-Quaternary fossils.

When flight and echolocation appeared

Placing the roughly 50-million-year-old French fossil Vielasia in an early branch suggests laryngeal echolocation predated the major diversification of crown bats. Flight and echolocation may therefore have evolved close together early on.

The limit of a European origin

The fossil record is geographically uneven and incomplete. The location comes from statistical models combining genomes, anatomy, dispersal and extinction—not simply from the oldest bone yet discovered.

What the new tree enables

Researchers can now compare longevity, disease resistance and flight on a firmer family tree. Older fossils and gaps in Africa and Asia could still shift the estimated place or date.

Primary source and independent checks

Primary source: Nature 원 논문

Institutional explanation: University College Dublin 연구 설명

Independent check: Euronews 독립 확인

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