Volaticotherium

Volaticotherium
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, 164 Ma
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Holotype, Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Eutriconodonta
Clade: †Volaticotherini
Genus: †Volaticotherium
Meng et al., 2006
Type species
†Volaticotherium antiquum
Meng et al., 2006[1]

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.

The discovery of Volaticotherium provided the earliest-known record of a gliding mammal (70 million years older than the next oldest example),[2] 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.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference mengetal06 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Wild Things: Life As We Know It". Smithsonian Magazine. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  3. ^ Gaetano, Leandro C.; Rougier, Guillermo W. (2011). "New materials of Argentoconodon fariasorum (Mammaliaformes, Triconodontidae) from the Jurassic of Argentina and its bearing on triconodont phylogeny". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (4): 829–843. Bibcode:2011JVPal..31..829G. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.589877. hdl:11336/68497. S2CID 85069761.