CreatureData

Lesser noctule

Nyctalus leisleri (Kuhl, 1817)

LCLeast Concernbats

The lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri) is a species in the family Vespertilionidae, order Chiroptera. Recorded adults weigh 13.3 g to 16 g and live up to 12.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri)
Photo: Manuel Werner, Nürtingen, AG Fledermausschutz Baden-Württemberg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the lesser noctule

Weight
13.3 g – 16 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
26 cm – 32 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
12.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
16 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
1.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the lesser noctule?

LESSER NOCTULE · WINGSPAN 32 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 32 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the lesser noctule is about 19% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the lesser noctule live?

Not recorded

What is the lesser noctule?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The lesser noctule or the Leisler's bat (Nyctalus leisleri), is a species of insectivorous bat belonging to the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. The species was named to honour the naturalist Johann Philipp Achilles Leisler.

From the Wikipedia article “Lesser noctule” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_noctule&oldid=1374336678), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the lesser noctule endangered?

The lesser noctule is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the lesser noctule classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderChiroptera
  5. familyVespertilionidae
  6. genusNyctalus
  7. SpeciesNyctalus leisleri (Kuhl, 1817)

Synonyms Nyctalus dasykarpos, Nyctalus leiseri, Nyctalus pachygnatus, Vespertilio leisler

Other names and names in other languages (45)
  • Leisler's batEnglish
  • Leisler's batEnglish
  • Leisler's batEnglish
  • Leisler's noctuleEnglish
  • Leislers bat, lesser noctuleEnglish
  • Leisler’s noctuleEnglish
  • Lesser noctule batEnglish
  • Вячэрніца малаяBelarusian
  • Малая вячэрнiцаBelarusian
  • Nòctul petitCatalan
  • netopýr stromovýCzech
  • Ystlum LeislerWelsh
  • Ystlumod LeislerWelsh
  • Leislers flagermusDanish
  • KleinabendseglerGerman
  • Kleiner AbendseglerGerman
  • Μεγάλος ΝυχτοβάτηςGreek
  • Nóctulo PequeñoSpanish
  • metsälepakkoFinnish
  • LeislerflogmúsFaroese
  • Noctule de LeislerFrench
  • BoskflearmûsWestern Frisian
  • רמשן זוטרHebrew
  • szőröskarú koraidenevérHungarian
  • HúmblakaIcelandic
  • Litla næturblakaIcelandic
  • Ialtóg LeislerItalian
  • Nottola di LeislerItalian
  • ヒメヤマコウモリJapanese
  • Түн жарқанатыKazakh
  • 라이슬러멧박쥐Korean
  • Mažasis nakvišaLithuanian
  • LeislerflaggermusNorwegian Bokmål
  • bosvleermuisDutch
  • Leislers vleermuisDutch
  • Borowiec leśnyPolish
  • Morcego-arborícola-pequenoPortuguese
  • Liliac mic de amurgRomanian
  • Малая вечерницаRussian
  • Raniak stromovýSlovak
  • gozdni mračnikSlovenian
  • Leislers fladdermusSwedish
  • mindre brunfladdermusSwedish
  • Küçük Akşamcı YarasaTurkish
  • Вечірниця малаUkrainian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the lesser noctule

Other species in the same genus Nyctalus.

NT, Near Threatened

Birdlike noctule

Nyctalus aviator

VespertilionidaeNo free photo yet

VU, Vulnerable

Azores noctule

Nyctalus azoreum

VespertilionidaeNo free photo yet

LC, Least Concern

Mountain noctule

Nyctalus montanus

VespertilionidaeNo free photo yet

LC, Least Concern

Chinese noctule

Nyctalus plancyi

VespertilionidaeNo free photo yet

CompareLesser noctule vs Common noctuleLesser noctule vs Greater noctule batLesser noctule vs Birdlike noctuleLesser noctule vs Azores noctule

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lesser noctule?

An adult lesser noctule weighs 13.3 g – 16 g and has a wingspan of 26 cm – 32 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the lesser noctule endangered?

The lesser noctule is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the lesser noctule live?

The lesser noctule has a recorded lifespan of 12.5 years.

What kind of animal is the lesser noctule?

The lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri) belongs to the family Vespertilionidae in the order Chiroptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-noctule

MLA

“Lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-noctule.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_noctule_2026,
  title = {Lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-noctule},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}