Megaderma fossil map
Where fossils of Megaderma have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 5 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 27.3–0.0117 million years ago (Chattian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Paleogene, Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Megadermatidae |
| Named by | Geoffroy 1810 |
| Fossil records | 28 occurrences at 14 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Austria, France, Philippines, Israel, Slovakia, Germany, China, Thailand, Australia, Spain … |
| Rock formations | txn:40640, Colombacci |
About Megaderma
Megaderma is a genus of bat in the family Megadermatidae. It contains two living species:
Lesser false vampire bat (Megaderma spasma)
Greater false vampire bat (Megaderma lyra)
Megaderma lyra has a larger wingspan than Megaderma spasma. Members of this genus are found in Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka. The ranges of the two species overlap in the Malayan Peninsula, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and along the east coast of India.
The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) was included in Megaderma before reclassification in Macroderma.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Megaderma (revision 1089544690), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q221073.
