Hassianycteris

Hassianycteris is an extinct genus of Early Eocene (Ypresian) bats from the Hassianycterididae with two or three known species: the type (H. messelensis), found in the Messel Pit, Germany,[1][2] H. kumasi, found in the Cambay Shale Formation (Vastan Lignite Mine), India,[3] and the possible third species "H." joeli, found in the Kortijk Clay Formation, Belgium.[4] Alongside Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon (alive roughly 48 million years ago), P. tupaiodon and Hassianycteris kumari are the first fossil mammals whose colouration has been discovered: both were reddish-brown when alive.[5][6] H. messelensis was probably a similar colour when alive.

Hassianycteris
Temporal range: Early Eocene, 55.8–48.6 Ma
Specimen of H. messelensis from the Messel Pit of Germany
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Chiroptera
Family:
†Hassianycterididae
Genus:
†Hassianycteris

Smith & Storch, 1981
Binomial name
†Hassianycteris messelensis
Smith & Storch, 1981
Other species
  • †"H." joeli? Smith & Russel, 1992
  • †H. kumari Smith et al., 2007

References
  1. Smith, J.D. Storch, G. (1981): New Middle Eocene bats from “Grube Messel” near Darmstadt, W-Germany. Senckenbergiana biologica, 61 (3/4): 153-167.
  2. Richter, G. & Storch, G. (1980): Beiträge zur Ernährungsbiologie eozäner Fledermäuse aus der "Grube Messel". Natur und Museum, 110 (12), p. 353-367
  3. T. Smith, R. S. Rana, P. Missiaen, K. D. Rose, A. Sahni, H. Singh, and L. Singh. 2007. High bat (Chiroptera) diversity in the Early Eocene of India. Naturwissenschaften 94(12):1003-1009
  4. T. Smith and R. Smith. 2003. Terrestrial mammals as biostratigraphic indicators in upper Paleocene-lower Eocene marine deposits of the southern North Sea Basin. Geological Society of America Special Paper 369:513-520
  5. "Paleontologists Determine Original Color of Extinct Bats". SciNews. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  6. Colleary, C.; Dolocanc, A.; Gardnerd, J.; Singha, Suresh; Wuttkee, M. (2015). "Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112 (41): 12592–12597. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11212592C. doi:10.1073/pnas.1509831112. PMC 4611652. PMID 26417094.
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