Many species are a drab brown in color, but some are white, bluish-grey or even olive-green, helping to camouflage them against their preferred roosting environments.

[1] False vampire bats are relatively large, with combined head and body lengths that range from 65–140 mm (2.6–5.5 in).

A 2015 study concluded that, while they did not have enough genetic data to fully resolve these relationships, the two Megaderma species should be in separate genera.

[7] Note that Thongaree's disc-nosed bat, Eudiscoderma thongareeae, was not included in this analysis, as it was not described as a new species until 2015.

[3] Megadermatidae is a relatively old family, appearing in the fossil record as early as 37 million years ago.