NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Little Brown Bat
Vespadelus vulturnus (Thomas, 1914)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The little forest bat (Vespadelus vulturnus) is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found only in south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It is a tiny bat often weighing less than 4 g (0.14 oz) (males in some areas weigh as little as 2.5 g (0.088 oz)). It is sometimes referred to as Australia's smallest mammal, although the Northern or Koopmans Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus westralis, is possibly smaller, weighing on average around 3 g (0.11 oz). It is the smallest bat in Tasmania
Wikipedia contributors, Little forest bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:06:39.190319+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Vespadelus vulturnus (Thomas, 1914)
- Name authority
- (Thomas, 1914)
- Common name
- Little Brown Bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Genus
- Vespadelus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
- suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
- superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
- familyVespertilionidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyVespertilioninae Gray, 1821
- tribeVespertilionini Gray, 1821
- genusVespadelus Troughton, 1943
- speciesVespadelus vulturnus (Thomas, 1914)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Vespadelus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Little Brown BatVespadelus caurinus (Thomas, 1914) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Forest BatVespadelus pumilus (Gray, 1841) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Large Forest BatVespadelus darlingtoni (G. M. Allen, 1933) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Finlayson's Cave BatVespadelus finlaysoni (Kitchener, Jones & Caputi, 1987) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Eptesicus pumilus vulturnus Thomas, 1914 Thomas, 1914 | synonym |
| Eptesicus vulturnus Thomas, 1914 Thomas, 1914 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=946229 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7FR52. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.