Prehistoric Models: Chiroptera
(bats)
Mammals are a class animals defined as warm-blooded vertebrates, distinguished by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for the nourishment of the young, and (typically) the birth of live young (with only two modern exceptions).
Bats are classified in the Order of Chiroptera meaning “hand wing”. The earliest bat fossils are from the Eocene Epoch some 50 million years ago. Bats are the second largest Order in the Class Mammalia, they are only outnumbered by Rodents.
Kingdom: Animalia – Phylum: Chordata – Superclass: Tetrapoda – Class: Mammalia – Order: Chiroptera
(Bats)
Eocene to Holocene
Genus and species: Rousettus aegyptiacus
Common name: Egyptian fruit bat
Classification: Family: Pteropodidae
Time: Holocene
Range: Africa, Middle East, and Southwest Asia
Diet: Herbivore
Genus and species: Euderma maculatum
Common name: Spotted bat
Classification: Family: Vespertilionidae
Time: Holocene
Range: Western north America
Diet: Insectivore
