Volaticotherium
Volaticotherium antiquum (meaning "ancient gliding beast") is an extinct, gliding, insectivorous mammal that lived in Asia during the Jurassic period, around 164 mya. It is the only member of the genus Volaticotherium.
| Volaticotherium Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, | |
|---|---|
| Holotype, Paleozoological Museum of China | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Clade: | †Eutriconodonta |
| Clade: | †Volaticotherini |
| Genus: | †Volaticotherium Meng et al., 2006 |
| Type species | |
| †Volaticotherium antiquum Meng et al., 2006 | |
The discovery of Volaticotherium provided the earliest-known record of a gliding mammal (70 million years older than the next oldest example), until the discovery of the contemporary haramiyidans Maiopatagium, Vilevolodon and Xianshou, and provided further evidence of mammalian diversity during the Mesozoic Era. The closely related and significantly older Argentoconodon shows similar post-cranial adaptations for aerial locomotion also seen in Volaticotherium.
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