Bat taxonomy

Microbats constitute the suborder Microchiroptera within the order Chiroptera (bats). Bats have long been differentiated into Megachiroptera (megabats) and Microchiroptera, based on their size, the use of echolocation by the Microchiroptera and other features; molecular evidence suggests a somewhat different subdivision, as the microbats have been shown to be a paraphyletic group.

The Yinpterochiroptera (or Pteropodiformes) is a suborder of the Chiroptera, which includes taxa formerly known as megabats and five of the microbat families: Rhinopomatidae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Craseonycteridae, and Megadermatidae. This suborder is primarily based on molecular genetics data. This proposal challenged the traditional view that megabats and microbats form monophyletic groups of bats. Further studies are being conducted, using both molecular and morphological cladistic methodology, to assess its merit.

The Vespertilioninae are a subfamily of vesper bats from the family Vespertilionidae.

Yangochiroptera, or Vespertilioniformes, is a suborder of Chiroptera that includes most of the microbat families, except the Rhinopomatidae, Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Craseonycteridae and Megadermatidae. These other families, plus the megabats, are seen as part of another suborder, the Yinpterochiroptera. All bats in Yangochiroptera use laryngeal echolocation (LE), which involves the use of high-frequency sounds to detect prey and avoid obstacles.

Rhinolophoidea is a superfamily of bats. It contains the following families: Craseonycteridae, Hipposideridae, Megadermatidae, Rhinolophidae, Rhinonycteridae, and Rhinopomatidae. It is one of two superfamilies that make up the suborder Yinpterochiroptera, the other being Pteropodoidea, which only contains the family Pteropodidae.

The Pteropodinae are a subfamily of megabats. Taxa within this subfamily are: Genus Acerodon Sulawesi flying fox, A. celebensis Talaud flying fox, A. humilis Giant golden-crowned flying fox, A. jubatus Palawan fruit bat, A. leucotis Sunda flying fox, A. mackloti Genus Desmalopex White-winged flying fox, D. leucopterus Small white-winged flying fox, D. microleucopterus Genus Eidolon — straw-coloured fruit bats Madagascan fruit bat, E. dupreanum Straw-coloured fruit bat, E. helvum Genus Mirimiri Fijian monkey-faced bat, M. acrodonta Genus Neopteryx Small-toothed fruit bat, N. frosti Genus

Noctilionoidea is a superfamily of bats containing seven families: Thyropteridae, Furipteridae, Noctilionidae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, Myzopodidae, and Mystacinidae.

Vespertilionoidea is a superfamily of bats containing five families: Cistugidae, Miniopteridae, Molossidae, Natalidae, and Vespertilionidae. It is one of three superfamilies in the suborder Yangochiroptera, the others being Noctilionoidea and Emballonuroidea.

The megabat subfamily Macroglossusinae is within the family Pteropodidae.

thumb | right Emballonuroidea is a superfamily of bats containing two families: Emballonuridae and Nycteridae. It is one of three superfamilies in the suborder Yangochiroptera, the others being Noctilionoidea and Vespertilionoidea. Emballonurids are also known as sheath-tailed bats and sac-winged bats: the latter name refers to the glandular sac found on the edge of the wings in many species, used to produce a scent which represents territorial dominance and social presence. The Emballonuridae family contains 13 genera and 47 species, present in subtropical and tropical areas of the world. The

Epomophorinae is a subfamily of megabat. It was established as a subfamily in 1997. Epomophorine bats are found only in Africa.