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Northern bat

species of mammal

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 11, 2026
Entity authorityQ300941 ↗
Source-derived summary

The northern bat (Eptesicus nilssonii) is the most abundant species of bat in northern Eurasia occurring from France to Hokkaidō and south to Kazakhstan.

Description

The northern bat is dark brown or black with some gold touched at the tip of the hairs in the head and back region. Its nose, ears, tail and wings are black or blackish brown. The coat on the ventral side is yellowish brown. It has short and rounded ears. It body length is 54–64 mm (2.1–2.5 in) with a wing span of 240–280 mm (9.4–11.0 in), and it weighs 8–16 g (0.28–0.56 oz) depending on the season.

Distribution and habitat

The northern bat is widespread throughout Eurasia, and is the most common bat in the northern part of the continent. It occurs from northern Scandinavia beyond the Arctic Circle to northern Italy, and eastern England to northern Japan. It favours forest uplands at elevations of 200–2,000 m (660–6,560 ft).

Behaviour and ecology

Northern bat colonies have moved as far as 450 km (280 mi) over a period of several years.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Northern bat” as species of mammal. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current 176-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Northern, species and mammal can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of mammal. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q300941. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Northern bat”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Northern bat primary sources, Northern bat archive and Northern research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Northern bat”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Northern bat” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.