The coloration is light brown, cinnamon brown, orange brown, dark brown, or ashy gray. Nyctophilus and Pharotis are the genera in the family Vespertilionidae that combine long united ears with a small, horseshoe-shaped nose leaf. The ears, about 25 mm in length, usually are united by a low membrane. There is a fleshy disk behind the nose leaf, and the muzzle is abruptly truncate. These bats have been observed in forested areas, scrub country, and arid regions.
Daytime retreats are small caverns, crevices in rocks, tree hollows, and under the bark of trees.
Most, if not all, of the species have a rather slow and fluttering flight. They are highly maneuverable and pursue a variety of insects in the open air but also glean from foliage and tree branches. The bat hovers in front of the hand and at times will even land gently on it to take the insect. Big-eared bats can also fly off a horizontal surface by leaping into the air with a sudden downward cupping of the outstretched wings, as does Antrozous. On the mainland these colonies are made up almost entirely of pregnant females, but in Tasmania they contain adults of both sexes.