In Depth Towards the end of the Triassic a group of reptiles evolved wings so that they could fly after insects in the air, becoming the reptiles now known to us as pterosaurs. Over one hundred and sixty million years later and only around thirteen million years after the pterosaurs became extinct at the end … Read more
In Depth Onychonycteris existed during the Eocene, and is regarded as one of the most primitive bats known. So primitive is Onychonycteris that the fingers all still have large claws on their ends, and study of the skull and ear bones strongly suggests that Onychonycteris was incapable of using echolocation to find prey. This is … Read more
In Depth Despite the fact that fossils of Palaeochiropteryx are dated all the way back to the Lutetian period of the Eocene, this bat is already almost like modern day bats are. In depth study of the cochlea of Palaeochiropteryx has revealed that it as an intermediate level of development, meaning that it was not … Read more
In Depth Witwatia is a genus of bat that at the time of writing only known to have inhabited North Africa during the late Eocene. The type species, W. schlosseri as well as W. eremicus are both known from the Birket Qarun Formation of Egypt. A third species named in 2012, W. sigei, is known … Read more