{
  "id": 13306990,
  "title": "Evolutionary History of Bats Dating Back 65 Million Years, Study Reveals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/evolutionary-history-of-bats-dating-back-65-million-years-study",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-10T02:18:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun",
    "slug": "the-japan-news-by-the-yomiuri-shimbun",
    "url": "https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/news-services/reuters/20261010-352815/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bats, highly significant entities in global ecosystems, contribute to pollination, seed dispersal, and insect control. Representing more than 1,500 species, these flying mammals have a rich evolutionary history dating back 65 million years. A comprehensive study reveals that bats emerged in Europe post the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs, subsequently spreading worldwide, contrary to earlier beliefs that placed their origin in North America, Asia, or Africa. The research, comprising the largest genome and fossil analysis ever conducted, also underscores that both flight and echolocation abilities, the biological sonar system bats employ, evolved concurrently during the early stages of bat evolution. Sonja Vernes, a biology professor from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, notes that these traits enabled bats to exploit nighttime niches, avoiding competition and predation from birds. Emma Teeling, a zoology professor from University College Dublin, adds that echolocation allowed bats to become nocturnal, avoiding competition with birds and predation by diurnal birds. Fernández notes that bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, joining pterosaurs and birds as the only vertebrates with this ability. Despite the extinction of pterosaurs, bats now constitute over a fifth of the world’s mammal species. The oldest bat fossils date back approximately 52 million years. The study also hints at the genetic underpinnings of bats' disease resistance and exceptional longevity, which may have implications for human health research.",
  "summary": "WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Bats are critical players in global ecosystems, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds and eating huge numbers of insects. One of only three lineages of flying vertebrates in Earth’s history, there are more than 1,500 bat species living today. But their evolutionary history has been a bit of a puzzle for scientists.",
  "key_points": [
    "Bats evolved 65 million years ago in Europe after dinosaur extinction",
    "Flight and echolocation abilities developed simultaneously in early bats",
    "Bats are only mammals capable of powered flight, joining pterosaurs and birds"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}