Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Ancient Bats Could Not Echolocate


Kamandi © DC Comics
From Nature News comes this report from this year’s SVP conference in Austin, TX.

The most primitive bat ever discovered is finally being scientifically reported from two fossils, years after the first fossil was found and snapped up by a private collector. The 52.5-million-year-old bat unusually had a claw on all five digits of each limb, earning it the nickname '20-clawed bat'. Its anatomy shows that it captured its prey without the use of echolocation — the strongest evidence yet that some bats flew before this skill evolved.

Read the whole story of the discovery and purchase of the new material from commercial collectors HERE