Study suggests bats originated in Europe 65 million years ago
A large-scale analysis of genomes and fossils indicates flight and echolocation evolved early in bat evolution.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
FILE PHOTO: A Rodrigues fruit bat hangs on a perch in the Masoala Rainforest hall at the zoo in Zurich March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Photograph: Channel News Asia (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Bats likely first appeared in Europe approximately 65 million years ago, according to a large study combining genome and fossil data.
- The study suggests that the evolution of flight and echolocation occurred early in the history of bats.
- Researchers analyzed genetic data from 103 bat species and information from 44 fossil bats to construct a bat family tree.
- The findings indicate bats spread from Europe to other continents, with Antarctica being the only continent they never inhabited.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 38 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 26 of the 64 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
41/100
64 sources · methodology
A comprehensive study integrating bat genomes and fossil records suggests that bats originated in Europe approximately 65 million years ago. This places their emergence shortly after the mass extinction event that ended the age of dinosaurs. The research, which analysed genomes from 103 bat species and data from 44 fossil bats, indicates that these flying mammals then spread across the globe, reaching Africa, Asia, America, and Australia. Antarctica is noted as the only continent never inhabited by bats.
The study also proposes that key evolutionary traits, specifically the ability to fly and to echolocate, evolved near the beginning of bat evolution. Researchers used advanced computational methods to build a bat family tree, integrating genetic information with anatomical traits observed in fossils. This approach aimed to resolve long-standing debates about the origin of bats and the sequence of their evolutionary developments.
Disagreement on early evolution
While the study suggests flight and echolocation evolved near the dawn of bat evolution, the precise timing and order of these developments remain a subject of discussion. Channel News Asia reported that researchers concluded both flight and echolocation evolved near the dawn of bat evolution. However, Channel News Asia also noted that it is unclear whether flight or echolocation evolved first, with one study leader stating that the oldest bat fossils show both capabilities, and that finding older 'pre-bats' would be necessary to answer this question.
What the coverage left out
None of the left, centre, or right-rated reports printed below mention the specific date of the study's publication in the journal Nature, nor do they detail the specific time period after the asteroid impact that bats are suggested to have appeared in Europe.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 24 Sept 2026, 19:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
7 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports highlighted the study's conclusion that bats originated in Europe about 65 million years ago, challenging previous hypotheses about their origins in Africa, Asia, or North America. Several reports, including those from CBC News and Gizmodo, mentioned that the study could help reveal secrets behind bats' extraordinary disease resistance and longevity. CBC News also included details about the study's methodology, such as sequencing genomes from 103 bat species and comparing them to 44 fossil bats, and quoted a study leader, Sonja Vernes, on the dispersal of bats across the planet. Gizmodo's headline, "We Finally Know Where Bats Came From, and Dracula Would Approve," alluded to the popular association of bats with the fictional vampire.
Centre
23 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the study's main finding that bats likely originated in Europe around 65 million years ago. Multiple outlets, such as Kreiszeitung, merkur.de, tz.de, hna.de, and mannheim24.de, stated that 134 researchers from 64 countries analyzed 103 bat genomes and 44 fossil finds, and that the results showed how the animals spread from Europe to Africa, Asia, America, and Australia. Channel News Asia, also rated centre, provided more detail on the study's implications, noting that bats are critical players in global ecosystems and that their evolutionary history has been a puzzle for scientists.
Right
8 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports primarily focused on the study's conclusion that bats originated in Europe approximately 65 million years ago, contradicting prior assumptions about their place of origin. Headlines from outlets like Chronicle-Tribune, The Messenger, and La Razón posed the question "Where did bats originate from?" and stated that new research reveals the answer. Cyprus Mail noted the participation of the University of Nicosia in the international study published in Nature. News-pravda.com mentioned that scientists uncovered the origin and secret of bat longevity, suggesting this could help humans.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Study suggests bats originated in Europe 65 million years ago?
- Of the 38 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 18% are rated left, 61% are rated centre, 21% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 64. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Study suggests bats originated in Europe 65 million years ago left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 38 rated outlets on this story, 18% are rated left, 61% are rated centre, 21% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Study suggests bats originated in Europe 65 million years ago biased?
- Study suggests bats originated in Europe 65 million years ago is one event reported by 64 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Study suggests bats originated in Europe 65 million years ago?
- 64 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- When and where did bats first appear according to the study?
- A large study combining bat genomes and fossils suggests that bats first appeared in Europe about 65 million years ago. This timing places their emergence shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
- What key evolutionary traits evolved early in bats?
- The study indicates that the evolution of flight and echolocation, the biological sonar system many bats use, occurred near the dawn of bat evolution. These abilities are considered fundamental to their success and diversification.
- How many bat species and fossils were analysed in the study?
- Researchers analysed genomes from 103 different bat species and integrated this data with an analysis of 44 fossil bats. This extensive dataset was used to construct a comprehensive bat family tree.
- Which continent have bats never inhabited?
- According to the findings of the study, Antarctica is the only continent that bats have never inhabited. From their likely origin in Europe, they spread to other parts of the world.
Read it at the source
64 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
7- Bats May Have Originated in Europe 65 Million Years Ago. (opens Cumhuriyet in a new tab)
Cumhuriyet — is Cumhuriyet biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens gonzagabulletin.com in a new tab)
gonzagabulletin.com — is gonzagabulletin.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats come from? Family tree drawn from huge genetic study (opens CBC News in a new tab)
- Scientists: Bats Are Full of Viruses, but They Don't Die. This Could Help Humans Too (opens IndexHR in a new tab)
- We Finally Know Where Bats Came From—and Dracula Would Approve (opens Gizmodo in a new tab)
- A Mega-Study Reveals the Mysterious Origin of Bats: “They Are One of the Greatest Experiments of Evolution” (opens Eldiario.es in a new tab)
Eldiario.es — is Eldiario.es biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bats Are Probably Originally From Europe (opens Spiegel in a new tab)
Centre
23- FDU Researcher Helps Rewrite the Bat Family Tree in Landmark Nature Study (opens Fairleigh Dickinson University in a new tab)
- Study reveals evolutionary history of bats, dating back 65 million years (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Study reveals evolutionary history of bats, dating back 65 million years (opens Channel News Asia in a new tab)
Channel News Asia — is Channel News Asia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Exemplary Genome and Fossil Study: Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens Kreiszeitung in a new tab)
Kreiszeitung — is Kreiszeitung biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Exemplary Genome and Fossil Study: Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens merkur.de in a new tab)
- Exemplary Genome and Fossil Study: Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens tz.de in a new tab)
- Exemplary Genome and Fossil Study: Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens hna.de in a new tab)
- Exemplary Genome and Fossil Study: Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens mannheim24.de in a new tab)
mannheim24.de — is mannheim24.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 15 more
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel in a new tab)
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Purdue Exponent in a new tab)
Purdue Exponent — is Purdue Exponent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Pacific Daily News in a new tab)
Pacific Daily News — is Pacific Daily News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Floyd Chronicle & Times in a new tab)
Floyd Chronicle & Times — is Floyd Chronicle & Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Delaware Business Now in a new tab)
Delaware Business Now — is Delaware Business Now biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Columbia Gorge News in a new tab)
Columbia Gorge News — is Columbia Gorge News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens ABC FOX Montana in a new tab)
ABC FOX Montana — is ABC FOX Montana biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Study: Bats Learned to Fly in Europe (opens Eesti Rahvusringhääling in a new tab)
Eesti Rahvusringhääling — is Eesti Rahvusringhääling biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bats Originated in Europe, Genetic and Fossil Evidence Suggests (opens sci.news in a new tab)
- Mystery of where bats first evolved solved by Irish scientists (opens Extra.ie in a new tab)
- Royal Ontario Museum provides crucial genetic samples for revising bat family tree (opens The Globe & Mail in a new tab)
The Globe & Mail — is The Globe & Mail biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Earth's first bats didn't come from where we thought, landmark genetic study reveals (opens Live Science in a new tab)
Live Science — is Live Science biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens Hola News in a new tab)
- These Small, Stealthy Bats Use High-Frequency Vocalizations to Keep Their Chatter Out of the Range of Predators and Prey (opens Smithsonian Mag in a new tab)
Smithsonian Mag — is Smithsonian Mag biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Genome project opens the next chapter for studying bat evolution (opens Nature in a new tab)
Right
8- Bats may have first appeared in Europe 65 million years ago, study finds (opens The Hindu Business Line in a new tab)
The Hindu Business Line — is The Hindu Business Line biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens The Messenger in a new tab)
The Messenger — is The Messenger biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Princeton Clarion in a new tab)
Princeton Clarion — is Princeton Clarion biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Chronicle-Tribune in a new tab)
Chronicle-Tribune — is Chronicle-Tribune biased? Our profile of this outlet
- UNIC takes part in international study on bat evolution, biology, published in ‘Nature’ (opens Cyprus Mail in a new tab)
Cyprus Mail — is Cyprus Mail biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where Do Bats Come From? A Study Places Their Origin in Europe 65 Million Years Ago (opens La Razón in a new tab)
- Scientists have uncovered the origin and secret of bat longevity (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Researchers Decipher Genetic Material: Bats Probably Come From Europe (opens n-tv in a new tab)
Not rated
26- Batman Originates in Europe: Reconstructed the Evolutionary History of Bats, the only Mammals Capable of Actively Flying (opens laprovincia.es in a new tab)
laprovincia.es — is laprovincia.es biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Batman Originates in Europe: Reconstructed the Evolutionary History of Bats, the only Mammals Capable of Actively Flying (opens informacion.es in a new tab)
informacion.es — is informacion.es biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Batman Originates in Europe: Reconstructed the Evolutionary History of Bats, the only Mammals Capable of Actively Flying (opens elcorreogallego.es in a new tab)
elcorreogallego.es — is elcorreogallego.es biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Study reveals evolutionary history of bats, dating back 65 million years (opens PressNewsAgency in a new tab)
PressNewsAgency — is PressNewsAgency biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where Were the First Bats on Earth Born? The Genetic Study of Their Unknown Origin that Turns Everything Upside Down (opens enikos.gr in a new tab)
- The European Adventure of Bats: Their Emergence 65 Million Years Ago (opens RayHaber in a new tab)
- Exemplary Genome and Fossil Study: Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens op-online.de in a new tab)
op-online.de — is op-online.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Where did bats originate from? New research reveals answer (opens Sunnyside Sun in a new tab)
Sunnyside Sun — is Sunnyside Sun biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 18 more
- A New Study Redesigns the Family Tree of Bats (opens Courrier international in a new tab)
Courrier international — is Courrier international biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Research Suggests that Bats May Have Originated in Europe Approximately 65 Million Years Ago. (opens Haberler in a new tab)
- European Origin of Bats: Genomes and Fossils Rewrite 65 Million Years of Evolution - Scintilena (opens scintilena.com in a new tab)
scintilena.com
- University of Nicosia Participates in International Study Published in Nature on the Evolution and Distinctive Biology of Bats (opens University of Nicosia in a new tab)
University of Nicosia — is University of Nicosia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Participation of the University of Nicosia in an International Study Published in the Journal Nature (opens dialogos.com.cy in a new tab)
dialogos.com.cy — is dialogos.com.cy biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Scientists: Bats Originated in Europe 65 Million Years Ago (opens Brňan in a new tab)
Brňan
- Bats Emerged in Europe 65 Million Years Ago - 24/09/2026 (opens Folha de S.Paulo in a new tab)
Folha de S.Paulo — is Folha de S.Paulo biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bats Have Their Origins in Europe (opens wissenschaft.de in a new tab)
wissenschaft.de — is wissenschaft.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bats originated in Europe, not Asia (opens unsw.edu.au in a new tab)
unsw.edu.au — is unsw.edu.au biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bats Originated in Europe, Genetic and Fossil Evidence Suggests (opens themondonews.com in a new tab)
themondonews.com — is themondonews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- New Genomic Research Reveals Bats Originated in Europe (opens Newswise in a new tab)
- Genetic Study Reveals that Bats Originated in Europe 65 Million Years Ago (opens ALnavío in a new tab)
- Bats Evolved in Europe 65 Million Years Ago. Scientists, Including Czechs, Are Shattering the Myth (opens iDNES.cz in a new tab)
- A Mega-Study Reveals the Mysterious Origin of Bats: “They Are One of the Greatest Experiments of Evolution” (opens elDiarioAR in a new tab)
elDiarioAR — is elDiarioAR biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bats Originated in Europe About 65 Million Years Ago (opens lavozdemichoacan.com.mx in a new tab)
lavozdemichoacan.com.mx — is lavozdemichoacan.com.mx biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Revolution in Medicine. The Secret of Bat Evolution Could Unlock New Therapies Against Cancer and Deadly Pathogens (opens Mediafax in a new tab)
- Bats originated in Europe, rewriting mammals’ family tree, study reveals (opens online-listing.com in a new tab)
online-listing.com — is online-listing.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Scientists Have Rewritten the Family Tree of Bats, Their Cradle Is Europe (opens Česká televize in a new tab)
Česká televize — is Česká televize biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
More in Science & Tech
All Science & Tech →Elsewhere on the site
Politics•3 min readTwo Ole Miss students die; kratom found in investigation
Politics•3 min readUniversity of Maryland Lab Faces Civil Rights Complaint Over Race Bias Allegations
![The Claude logo is seen in an illustration created on June 5, 2026 [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-06-05T185337Z_1549778064_RC2UNLA81928_RTRMADP_3_ANTHROPIC-AI-1790213605_a0a451-1790220375.jpg?resize=1200%2C630&quality=80)
