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Nature 451, 774-775 (14 February 2008) | doi:10.1038/451774a; Published online 13 February 2008

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Evolutionary biology: A first for bats

John Speakman1

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Which came first as bats evolved — flight or echolocation? Newly described fossils favour the flight-first hypothesis. But these creatures may have been otherwise equipped for flying at night.

A long-standing debate about the processes that led to the evolution of modern bats takes a new twist with the discovery of remarkable fossil bats recovered from the Green River formation in Wyoming. The fossils, which constitute a new genus and species, are described by Simmons et al.page 818 of this issue1.

  1. John Speakman is at the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB39 2PN, UK.
    Email: j.speakman@abdn.ac.uk

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RESEARCH

Primitive Early Eocene bat from Wyoming and the evolution of flight and echolocation

Nature Letters to Editor (14 Feb 2008)