Echoes through time: amazing inferences from a fossil bat

Lucas J S Greville; Lily Hou; Harry A W Kumbhani; Beatriz Nogueira E Figueira; Karen J Vanderwolf; Ryan A C Leys; Mathumy Sivatheesan; Thomas P Pianta; Liam P McGuire

doi:10.1186/s40850-024-00193-0

Echoes through time: amazing inferences from a fossil bat

BMC Zool. 2024 Feb 4;9(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s40850-024-00193-0.

Authors

Lucas J S Greville¹, Lily Hou¹, Harry A W Kumbhani¹, Beatriz Nogueira E Figueira¹, Karen J Vanderwolf¹, Ryan A C Leys¹, Mathumy Sivatheesan¹, Thomas P Pianta¹, Liam P McGuire²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
² Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ON, Canada. liam.mcguire@uwaterloo.ca.

Abstract

Sister to the Chiroptera crown-clade, the 50 million year old Vielasia sigei is suggested to have used laryngeal echolocation based on morphometric analyses. We discuss how Vielasia's discovery influences our understanding of the evolution of echolocation in bats and the insights fossils provide to the lives of extinct species.

Publication types

Letter