25% of all mammal species on Earth are bats.

25% of all mammal species on Earth are bats.

Bats are found on every continent except Antarctica, and approximately 1000 different species exist. The United States has 40 species. As a percentage of total mammal species on earth, bats account for about 25%, rodents account for almost 50%, and all other mammals account for the remaining 25%.

Bats make up nearly a quarter of all mammal species. Experts believe there are at least 1200 species of bats, out of 5400 total mammal species. Vampire bats don't suck blood. They lap it up, after using their razor-sharp teeth to make a small cut that lets the blood flow.

It's time for bats to come out of the shadows and get their due as an evolutionary success story: About one-fifth of all living mammal species are of the order Chiroptera (“hand-wing”), found on every continent but Antarctica.

There are more than 1,300 species of bats in the world, making them the second most common group of mammals after rodents. Some weigh less than a penny, while others have a wingspan of six feet, but all are impressive and vital members of their ecosystems.