Bats’ ancestors likely originated in Europe
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An international team of researchers led by Ariadna E. Morales investigated the origins of bats, challenging previous theories that placed their ancestry in Africa or North America.
The Bat1K consortium conducted large-scale genomic research, analyzing genomes from 103 bat species and data from 44 prehistoric fossils. Their analysis indicates that the ancestors of modern bats probably lived in Europe at the end of the Paleocene period, approximately 56 million years ago.
From Europe, these early bats migrated to Africa and then dispersed to the Americas, Asia, and Australia. The researchers connected this spread to warmer climates during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum. The study constructed an accurate family tree and timeline of bat biogeography, supported by a 99.2% statistical confidence level. The findings provide a revised understanding of bat evolution and their global distribution, shifting the focus from previous assumptions about their origins.
The team published their results in Nature under the title “Reference genomes and fossils revise bat family phylogeny and biogeography.”
