How Are Bats Classified?

Bats belong to the order Chiroptera. There are over 950 species in total, and they are found over all the continents of the world except Antarctica.

The order is divided into two suborders - the Megachiroptera and the Microchiroptera. The Megachiroptera is the smaller of the two suborders, containing only one family: the Pteropopidae or flying foxes.

The remaining 18 families make up the suborder Microchiroptera. They are the mouse-tailed bats, the Rhinopomatidae; the sheath-tailed bats, the Emballonuridae; Kitti's hog-nosed bat, the Craseonycteridae; the bulldog bats, the Noctilionidae; the slit-faced bats, the Nycteridae; the false vampire bats, the Megadermatidae; the horseshoe bats, the Rhinolophidae; the leaf-nosed bats, the Hipposideridae; the spear-nosed bats, the Phyllostomatidae; the vampire bats, the Desmodontidae; the sucker-footed bat, the Myzopodidae; the thumbless bats, the Furipteridae; the funnel-eared bats, the Natalidac; the disc-winged bats, the Thyropteridae; the common bats, the Vespertilionidae; the short-tailed bats, the Mystacinidae; the leaf-chinned bats, the Mormoopidae; and the free-tailed bats, the Molossidae.