Giant Fossil Bats Out of Africa
CHICAGO, IL (March 2008) - Newswise — When most of us think of Ancient
Egypt, visions of pyramids and mummies fill our imaginations. For a team of
paleontologists interested in fossil mammals, the Fayum district of Egypt
summons an even older and equally impressive history that extends much
further back in time than the Sphinx. In the latest issue of the Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology, these scientists report on the discovery of six new
bat species dating to around 35 million years ago, which sheds new light on
the early evolution of bats.
It took over 25 years of fieldwork to collect the 33 specimens that form the
basis of the new study. “That translates to a little over one specimen per
year – a lot of effort for a single fossil,” said Erik Seiffert, a
paleontologist at Stony Brook University. “But it shows just how important
patience and long term field programs are to science. Our long-term
commitment to field work certainly paid off in this case.” Among the new
species is “a giant among bats; though weighing in at less than a
half-pound, it is one of the largest fossil bats ever discovered,” said
Gregg Gunnell, a paleontologist at the University of Michigan.
Fossil bats of Eocene age are rare in Africa. Only a few fragmentary remains
from Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania and Tunisia were previously known. The
discovery of six new kinds of bats illustrates the remarkably rich, and
previously unsuspected, diversity of bats in Africa 37-34 million years ago.
These discoveries provide important new information for understanding the
evolution of modern bat families. It was thought that most Old World
families of bats evolved and diversified in the northern hemisphere, but the
new study indicates that many modern bat families only diversified and
radiated after their initial dispersal into Africa. Seiffert noted that the
Fayum bats include members of the most common and widespread group of living
bats, “Clearly the modern bat families have very ancient origins, and at
least some of them probably originated in Africa.”
Elwyn Simons of Duke University said, “Interestingly, it seems that
primitive modern bats may have entered Africa together with primitive
anthropoid primates. Only then did they diversify and disperse into the rest
of the Old and New Worlds.”
Gunnell hopes that “if we can come to understand the history of how bats
came to be so intertwined within our ecosystem, then we can begin to
appreciate them instead of fear them as many people seem to do.”
ABOUT THE SOCIETY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
Founded in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the Society now has more
than 2,000 members representing professionals, students, artists,
preparators and others interested in VP. It is organized exclusively for
educational and scientific purposes, with the object of advancing the
science of vertebrate paleontology.
The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP) is the leading journal of
professional vertebrate paleontology and the flagship publication of the
Society. It was founded in 1980 by Dr. Jiri Zidek and publishes
contributions on all aspects of vertebrate paleontology.