The findings come from an international study that combined genetic data from living bats with evidence from fossils.

The research involved 137 scientists from 64 countries and was conducted through the Bat1K consortium, an international initiative seeking to sequence the genomes of all living bat species.

For many years, scientists have debated where bats originated. Africa, Asia and North America have all been proposed as possible locations.

The new study, published in the journal Nature, points to Europe as the most likely birthplace of bats during the late Paleocene, roughly 65 to 60 million years ago.

Researchers analysed 103 bat genomes, including 42 newly produced chromosome-level genome assemblies representing all 21 recognised bat families.

They also examined 44 fossil bats to help reconstruct the animals' evolutionary history and track how they spread across different regions.

The researchers found evidence that the earliest bats evolved in Europe before their descendants expanded into Africa.

From there, different bat groups eventually reached the Americas, Asia and Australia, contributing to the remarkable diversity of bats found today.

The study also offers clues about the early development of some of the characteristics that make bats unique.

Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained powered flight, while most bat species use echolocation to navigate and locate food in darkness.

The researchers found evidence suggesting that both abilities emerged very early in bat evolution.

The team also examined Vielasia, an ancient bat fossil considered to be close to the earliest branches of the bat family tree.

Its position in the evolutionary record supports the idea that echolocation was already present near the beginning of bat evolution.

Scientists additionally reconstructed the genome of the ancient common ancestor of living bats using computational methods.

They say the reconstruction could help researchers investigate the genetic basis of traits such as flight, echolocation, long lifespans and resistance to some diseases.

Bats represent about one fifth of all living mammal species and play important ecological roles.

Many species help control insect populations, while others pollinate plants and disperse seeds.

The researchers say combining genetic and fossil evidence has provided a clearer picture of how bats evolved and spread around the world, helping resolve some long-standing questions about the history of one of the most distinctive groups of mammals.