Chinese, US scientists discover earliest gliding mammals
Fossilised remains of two species found in what is now Liaoning and Hebei provinces and they lived more than 100 million years before the emergence of bats
Not all prehistoric mammals needed to scurry to avoid dinosaurs with whom they shared the planet in the Jurassic age. Some just glided, according to research published on Thursday.
“With long limbs, long hand and foot fingers, and wing-like membranes for tree-to-tree gliding, Maiopatagium furculiferum and Vilevolodon diplomylos are the oldest known gliders in the long history of early mammals,” said a statement from the University of Chicago, whose researchers took part in the study.
It was not until more than 100 million years later that bats, which use powered flight like birds, and more gliding mammals appeared, following the dinosaurs’ demise.
The two species’ fossilised remains were found in what are now Liaoning and Hebei provinces.
