# Common noctule (*Nyctalus noctula*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-noctule  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common noctule (Nyctalus noctula) is a bat in the family Vespertilionidae, order Chiroptera, class Mammalia. It is a small bat with an adult body mass of 28 g and a wingspan of 34.4 cm. This nocturnal, aerial invertivore lives in forest habitats. It has a gestation period of 66.12 days and one litter per year, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 19.4 g – 28 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 34.4 cm |
| Lifespan | 12 years – 22.7 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Gestation | 66.1 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.17 |
| Age at maturity | 13.6 months – 15 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Chiroptera
- family: Vespertilionidae
- genus: Nyctalus
- species: *Nyctalus noctula* (Schreber, 1774)

Synonyms: *Nyctalus altivolans*, *Nyctalus lardarius*, *Nyctalus magnus*, *Nyctalus minima*, *Nyctalus noctula princeps*, *Nyctalus palustris*, *Nyctalus princeps*, *Nyctalus proterus*, *Vespertilio altivolans*, *Vespertilio lardarius*, *Vespertilio major*, *Vespertilio proterus*, *Vespertilio rufescens*, *Vespertilios noctula*, *Vesperugo magnus*, *Vesperugo minima*, *Vesperugo palustris*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common noctule?

The common noctule is a bat, a mammal in the family Vespertilionidae and the order Chiroptera.

### How big is the common noctule?

The common noctule weighs 28 g as an adult and has a wingspan of 34.4 cm, placing it in the small size class.

### What does the common noctule eat?

The common noctule is an invertivore, with a trophic level of carnivore.

### Is the common noctule endangered?

No. The common noctule is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the common noctule live?

The common noctule has a lifespan of 12 years, and our sources report up to 22.7 years.

### How many young does the common noctule have?

The common noctule has 1.165 young per litter and one litter per year, after a gestation period of 66.12 days.

### When does the common noctule reach sexual maturity?

The common noctule reaches sexual maturity at 435.2 days (1.2 years), with reported values from 414.8 to 455.5 days.

### Who named the common noctule?

The common noctule, Nyctalus noctula, was named by (Schreber, 1774).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common noctule (Nyctalus noctula). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-noctule