Early Eocene Bat from Wyoming
1966; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 154; Issue: 3754 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1126/science.154.3754.1333
ISSN1095-9203
Autores Tópico(s)Amphibian and Reptile Biology
ResumoA fossil skeleton of an early Eocene bat, the oldest known flying mammal, was found in southwest Wyoming. The bat is assigned to the new species Icaronycteris index of the suborder Microchiroptera. It was apparently of a young male whose body was buried in varved marls of the Green River Formation, on the bottom of Fossil Lake, about 50 million years ago. The bones, some as slender as a human hair, show a few "primitive" characteristics such as a clawed index finger and a complete phalangeal formula, but the bat was fully developed -an anatomically precocious contemporary of the dog-sized polydactylous horse.
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