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Fossilized skull shows that early bats had modern sonar

Remains suggest that ancient bats used the same form of echolocation as species flying the skies now.
A grey bat flying with wings outspread, against a black background.

The pocketed free-tailed bat (Nyctinomops femorosaccus) is one of the more than 1,000 bat species that use the ancient skill of echolocation. Credit: merlintuttle.org/SPL

A 50-million-year-old skull hints that echolocation is an ancient bat tactic1.

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Nature 622, 673 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03223-y

References

  1. Hand, S. J., Maugoust, J., Beck, R. M. D. & Orliac, M. J. Curr. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.043 (2023).

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