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Palaeochiropterygidae was merged into Archaeonycteridae by Kurten and Anderson in 1980, but modern authorities specializing in bat fossils maintain the distinction between the two. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It was classified to the unranked clade Microchiropteramorpha by Smith et al. in 2007.
Palaeochiropteryx (/ ˌ p æ l i oʊ k aɪ ˈ r ɒ p t ər ɪ k s / PAL-ee-oh-ky-ROP-tər-iks) is an extinct genus of bat from the Middle Eocene of Europe and North America.It contains three very similar species – Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon and Palaeochiropteryx spiegeli, both from the famous Messel Pit of Germany, as well as Palaeochiropteryx sambuceus from the Sheep Pass Formation (Nevada ...
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The fossil record for pteropodid bats is the most incomplete of any bat family. Although the poor skeletal record of Chiroptera is probably from how fragile bat skeletons are, Pteropodidae still have the most incomplete despite generally having the biggest and most sturdy skeletons.
[1] [2] The family Palaeochiropterygidae was also merged into Archaeonycteridae by Kurten and Anderson, but modern authorities specializing in bat fossils maintain the distinction between the two. [3] [4] They existed from the Ypresian to the Lutetian ages of the Middle Eocene epoch (55.8 to 40.4 million years ago). [1]
The 2003 discovery of an early fossil bat from the 52-million-year-old Green River Formation, Onychonycteris finneyi, indicates that flight evolved before echolocative abilities. [27] [28] Onychonycteris had claws on all five of its fingers, whereas modern bats have at most two claws on two digits of each hand.
In addition, several fossil genera are known; the oldest fossils attributed to the family are from the middle Eocene of Europe. [4] In their 1997 Classification of Mammals , Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell proposed a division of Hipposideridae (called Rhinonycterinae in their work) into three tribes , one with two subtribes, [ 5 ] but ...
Onychonycteris means "clawed bat", in reference to the fact that this animal had claws on all five of its digits, whereas modern bats only have claws on the thumb (in most species) or thumb and index finger (in pteropodids). [1] The specific epithet is a tribute to the fossil prospector and preparator who discovered it, Bonnie Finney. [1]