Bat
Part of the Extreme Mammals exhibition.
Part of the Extreme Mammals exhibition.
As much as we know about bats and how they get around, the answer to a long-time bat mystery comes from Wyoming, circa 52 million years ago. Did bats first fly, or echolocate--that is, use sound to navigate and feed at night?
The fossil bat, Onychonycteris finneyi, provides clear evidence that flying came first. The skull and bones of this fossil lack known adaptations for echolocation, but its skeleton, including its already elongated finger bones, reveals that it had wings and could definitely fly.
The evolutionary history of bats has not been completely resolved. Nancy Simmons of the American Museum of Natural History and other scientists are gradually unearthing their early evolutionary origins. Research suggests that flying bats might have evolved from a wingless, four-limbed ancestor. The proportions and anatomy of the spectacularly complete fossil bat, Onychonycteris finneyi, from Wyoming, reveals clues about the transition.