Icaronycteris

Icaronycteris
Temporal range: Early Eocene
Icaronycteris index holotype cast, American Museum of Natural History
Icaronycteris gunnelli holotype, American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: †Icaronycteridae
Genus: †Icaronycteris
Jepsen 1966
Species

Icaronycteris is an extinct genus of microchiropteran (echolocating) bat that lived in the early Eocene, approximately 52.2 million years ago, making it the earliest bat genus known from complete skeletons, and the earliest known bat from North America.[1][2]

Multiple exceptionally preserved specimens, among the best preserved bat fossils, are known from the Green River Formation of North America.[1][2] The best known species is I. index.[3] Fragmentary material from France has also been tentatively placed within Icaronycteris as the second species I. menui.[4] I. sigei is based on well-preserved fragments of dentaries and lower teeth found in Western India.[5] In 2023, the species I. gunnelli also from the Green River Formation was distinguished from I. index, and I. menui and I. sigei were proposed to be removed from the genus due to them not being closely related.[2]

  1. ^ a b Gunnell & Simmons 2005, Fossil Bats, p. 214
  2. ^ a b c Rietbergen et al. 2023
  3. ^ Jepsen 1966
  4. ^ Simmons & Geisler 1998, p. 40
  5. ^ Smith et al. 2007, Abstract