How do DNA studies change scientists’ understanding of bat classification?

While bats are sometimes colloquially misidentified as rodents, they are not related to mice or rats; they belong to the distinct order Chiroptera.1

Historically, scientists struggled to classify bats due to their delicate bones, which result in a limited fossil record. Early theories once suggested that bats were closely related to primates. However, modern DNA studies and genome analysis have significantly refined our understanding of their evolutionary position.213

These molecular investigations have reclassified bats into a superorder that includes animals such as pangolins and whales. By measuring differences in DNA sequences, researchers can now more accurately determine the degree to which species have diverged from a common ancestor, providing a more reliable framework for phylogeny than traditional methods based solely on comparative anatomy or embryology.13