News Paleontology

Newfound bat skeletons are the oldest on record

The 52.5-million-year-old fossils show the ancient fliers were surprisingly modern

A photo of a fossilized bat skeleton

Two complete fossils of the newfound bat species Icaronycteris gunnelli (one shown) are the oldest known bat skeletons, researchers say.

Rietbergen et al/PLOS ONE 2023

By Sid Perkins

Two fossilized bat skeletons unearthed in western Wyoming represent a new species and are the oldest set of bat bones yet discovered, researchers say.

The incredibly complete fossils of Icaronycteris gunnelli, which show all the animals’ bones in lifelike positions, are from limestone rocks that accumulated as lake sediments about 52.5