''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of
bat
Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
s in the family
Vespertilionidae and subfamily
Vespertilioninae.
The name of the genus is derived from the
Italian word , meaning "bat" (from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
"bird of evening, bat").
The size of the genus has been considerably reduced as a result of work during the 1990s and 2000s, with genera such as ''
Arielulus'', ''
Hypsugo'', ''
Falsistrellus'', ''
Neoromicia'', ''
Parastrellus'', ''
Perimyotis'', ''
Scotozous'', and ''
Vespadelus'' being split off. Still,
molecular evidence suggests the genus is not
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
. Several other genera in the subfamily Vespertilioninae have also been merged with ''Pipistrellus'' in previous classifications. Species in the genus may be referred to as "pipistrelles" or "pipistrelle bats", though these terms are also used for species now placed in other genera, such as the
western pipistrelle (''Parastrellus hesperus'') and
eastern pipistrelle (''Perimyotis subflavus'') of North America. Species of the Southern Hemisphere separated to genus ''
Falsistrellus'' are sometimes referred to as false pipistrelle or falsistrelle.
They are somewhat distinguished from their much larger relatives, the noctule bats ''
Nyctalus'' by their weak, fluttery flight reminiscent of a butterfly, though a few species are more direct in their flight.
Species
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Japanese pipistrelle, ''P. abramus''
*
Forest pipistrelle, ''P. adamsi''
*
Mount Gargues pipistrelle, ''P. aero''
*
Anchieta's pipistrelle, ''P. anchietae''
*
Angulate pipistrelle, ''P. angulatus''
*
Kelaart's pipistrelle, ''P. ceylonicus''
*
Greater Papuan pipistrelle, ''P. collinus''
*
Indian pipistrelle, ''P. coromandra''
*
Crete pipistrelle, ''P. creticus''
*
Dhofar pipistrelle, ''P. dhofarensis''
*
Endo's pipistrelle, ''P. endoi''
*
Hanak's dwarf bat, ''P. hanaki''
*
Dusky pipistrelle, ''P. hesperidus''
*
Aellen's pipistrelle, ''P. inexspectatus''
*
Java pipistrelle, ''P. javanicus''
*
Kuhl's pipistrelle, ''P. kuhlii''
*
Madeira pipistrelle, ''P. maderensis''
*
Minahassa pipistrelle, ''P. minahassae''
*†
Christmas Island pipistrelle, ''P. murrayi'' (extinct, last sighted in August 2009)
*
Tiny pipistrelle, ''P. nanulus''
*
Nathusius's pipistrelle, ''P. nathusii''
*
Lesser Papuan pipistrelle, ''P. papuanus''
*
Mount Popa pipistrelle, ''P. paterculus''
*
Dar es Salaam pipistrelle, ''P. permixtus''
*
Common pipistrelle, ''P. pipistrellus''
*
Soprano pipistrelle, ''P. pygmaeus''
*
Racey's pipistrelle, ''P. raceyi''
*
Rüppell's pipistrelle, ''P. rueppellii''
*
Rusty pipistrelle, ''P. rusticus''
*
Simandou pipistrelle, ''P. simandouensis''
*
Narrow-winged pipistrelle, ''P. stenopterus''
*†
Sturdee's pipistrelle, ''P. sturdeei'' (
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
2000)
*
Least pipistrelle, ''P. tenuis''
*
Watts's pipistrelle, ''P. wattsi''
*
Northern pipistrelle or Koopman's pipistrelle, ''P. westralis''
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Bat genera
Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup