[3][1][4][5] The Oriental serotine (E. pachyomus) and its constituent subspecies were formerly considered a subspecies of E. serotinus, comprising its eastern populations, and is still considered its closest relative, but phylogenetic evidence indicates a deep genetic divergence between E. serotinus and E. pachyomus, so they have been split as distinct species.

[3] The serotine bat has a Palaearctic distribution lying between about 58 degrees and 30 degrees from southern Great Britain and Spain in the west, east to along the Himalayas to northeastern India and along the Tian Shan to southern Mongolia and northern China, and south to Turkey and Iran.

[1] The serotine bat utilises in a wide variety of habitats including temperate and subtropical dry forest, maquis, agricultural land, semi-desert and suburban areas.

[1] In Europe serotine bats start to establish maternity colonies consisting almost exclusively of females from late May.

[8] The female bats normally give birth to a single young in late summer, and the baby is occasionally carried by its mother for the first few days.

The male bats probably remain solitary or in small groups but are occasionally found with females in spring or autumn.

In addition, as this bat almost exclusively roosts in buildings, it is highly vulnerable to disturbance from construction work and toxic timber treatments.

In the United Kingdom serotine bats benefit from a very comprehensive level of legal protection, as is the case across much of Europe.