The genus Pipistrellus contains the bats referred to as Pipistrelles or Pipistrelle bats. They belong to the family Vespertilionidae or Vesper bats within the order Chiroptera.
There are within the group, seven subgenera with a currently accepted total of seventy seven species making them one of the larger groupings within the order.
They are somewhat distinguished from their much larger cousins, the Noctule bats, Nyctalus by their weak, fluttery flight reminiscent more of a butterfly than anything else though a few species are more direct in their flight.
The common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus has a very large range across most of Europe, North Africa, southwestern Asia, and possibly into Korea. It is one of the most common species in the British Isles.
In North America, two species are widely distributed, though both (like bats in densely inhabited areas in general) are on the brink of becoming endangered in many regions by a loss of suitable nesting and hibernation places: the Eastern Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) and the Western Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus hesperus).
