# Serotine bat (*Eptesicus serotinus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/serotine-bat  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) is a bat in the family Vespertilionidae, order Chiroptera, class Mammalia. It is a small, nocturnal, aerial invertivore, with an adult body mass of 22.86 g and a wingspan of 34.1 cm. It has 1 litter per year after a gestation period of 66.72 days, with a representative value of 1.5 young per litter. Its lifespan is 12.5 years, with values up to 21 years reported, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 18.2 g – 22.9 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 34.1 cm |
| Lifespan | 12.5 years – 21 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | woodland |
| Gestation | 66.7 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.5 |
| 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: Eptesicus
- species: *Eptesicus serotinus* (Schreber, 1774)

Synonyms: *Cnephaeus serotinus*, *Eptesicus boscai*, *Eptesicus brachydigitus*, *Eptesicus coreensis*, *Eptesicus hottentotus*, *Eptesicus incisivus*, *Eptesicus insularis*, *Eptesicus intermedius*, *Eptesicus isabellinus*, *Eptesicus kuhlii*, *Eptesicus meridionalis*, *Eptesicus okenii*, *Eptesicus rufescens*, *Eptesicus serotinus brachydigitus*, *Eptesicus transylvanus*, *Eptesicus typus*, *Eptesicus wiedii*, *Fespertilio serotinus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the serotine bat?

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

### How big is the serotine bat?

It is a small bat with an adult body mass of 22.86 g and a wingspan of 34.1 cm.

### What does the serotine bat eat?

It is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore. It is nocturnal and forages in the air.

### How long does the serotine bat live?

Its lifespan is 12.5 years, and our sources report values up to 21 years.

### How many young does the serotine bat have?

It has 1 litter per year, with a representative value of 1.5 young per litter, after a gestation period of 66.72 days.

### Who named the serotine bat?

Its scientific name, Eptesicus serotinus, is attributed to (Schreber, 1774).

### What other names does the serotine bat have?

Other English names are Serotine, Silky bat, Big brown bat, Common serotine and Eurasian serotine.

## 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: Serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/serotine-bat