Megabats vs Microbats: What Is the Difference?

The Two Main Groups of Bats

Traditionally, all bats are divided into two major groups: Megachiroptera (megabats) and Microchiroptera (microbats). While modern genetics has slightly revised this classification, these groups remain the most practical way to understand bat diversity. Here is how they differ.

Size and Appearance

The most obvious difference is size. Megabats take their name from their generally larger body size. The largest megabat, the great flying fox, weighs up to 1.6 kg with a 1.7 m wingspan. However, not all megabats are large — some weigh as little as 14 g. Megabats are distinguished by their dog-like faces, large eyes, and the presence of a claw on the second digit of the wing. Microbats generally have small eyes and large, complex ears adapted for echolocation.

• Megabats: Dog-like face, large eyes, claw on second wing digit, mostly tailless
• Microbats: Small eyes, large complex ears, no wing claw, most have a tail membrane (uropatagium)
• Size range overlap: Some megabats are smaller than some microbats

Echolocation

This is the most fundamental biological difference. Microbats are echolocating mammals — they use a built-in biological sonar system that emits ultrasonic sounds to navigate and hunt prey at night. Megabats, with a few exceptions, do not echolocate. Instead, they rely on their large eyes (adapted for low-light vision) and highly developed sense of smell to find food.

The exception: megabats in the genus Rousettus can produce primitive echolocation by clicking their tongues, a different mechanism from the laryngeal echolocation used by microbats.

Diet

Megabats are almost exclusively herbivorous — eating fruit, nectar, and pollen. Microbats are predominantly insectivorous, though some species eat fish, frogs, birds, or even blood (vampire bats). Three vampire bat species — the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), the hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat — are the only mammals that feed exclusively on blood.

Habitat

Megabats live in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Microbats have a global distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica, including in temperate and even cold environments where they may hibernate.

Conservation & Further Reading

Megabats face significant threats from habitat destruction, hunting, and climate change. A quarter of all Pteropodidae species are listed as threatened by the IUCN. Their low reproductive rates mean that population recovery is slow after decline events. Supporting tropical forest conservation is the most effective way to protect megabat diversity.

For more information about specific types of megabats, explore the related guides below or visit the Pteropodidae family overview for a complete species list.