Family Miniopteridae Dobson, 1875

During a long period, the genus Miniopterus was considered to represent a separate subfamily within the Vespertilionidae . However, based on dental characters, the shape of the cranium, the double articulation of the humerus-scapulum, the length of the second phalanx of the third finger, the karyotype, the absence of a baculum and reproductive differences, Mein & Tupinier (1977: 210) suggested that the distinction should be made at the family level. This was later confirmed with molecular data (Hoofer & Van Den Bussche 2003: 1; Miller-Butterworth et al. 2007: 1553).