A study using reference genomes and fossil data has revised the evolutionary relationships and geographic origins of bat families, suggesting a European origin around 65 million years ago.

Nature, Phys.org, The Globe and Mail · Science & Medicine

24 Sept 20263 outlets

What it means

This is a major phylogenetic study, published in Nature, that combines 103 bat genomes with 44 fossils to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among bat families. The key finding is that bats likely originated in Europe around 65 million years ago, not in the tropics as previously thought, and that earlier molecular phylogenies were misled by a mosaic of evolutionary signals across the genome. The study effectively rewrites the bat family tree and its biogeographic history.

Accuracy & sourcesSourced

The claim is solid, coming directly from a peer-reviewed paper in Nature (doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11007-3), with the authors including Emma Teeling, a leading bat genomics researcher. The reporting in secondary outlets (Phys.org, Live Science, Museum für Naturkunde) closely mirrors the paper's abstract and press release, so the accuracy is high, though the specific details of the and the exact biogeographic inference are drawn from the paper's own conclusions.

How new

Genuinely new: the paper and its coverage were published within the last few hours, and no recirculation year is indicated.

A study using reference genomes and fossil data has revised the evolutionary relationships and geographic origins of bat families, suggesting a European origin around 65 million years ago.

What it means

Accuracy & sourcesSourced

How new

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