Vulcanops is an extinct genus of bat that lived during the Miocene in New Zealand. V. jennyworthyae is the type and only described species.[1][2]
Description[]
It is a large microchiropteran that presumed to being capable of burrowing and theorized to ate arthropods and plant material around twenty million years before present time. Based on the mean of several extrapolations from the size of its teeth, Vulcanops would have weighed slightly less than 40 grams. Its body mass would be three times the average size of modern bats. It is the largest bat of its family ever described.[3][4][5]
Vulcanops was described in 2018 from fossilized teeth and bone fragments. "Vulcan" was chosen in homage to the tectonic nature of New Zealand, as well as a historic hotel, Vulcan Hotel, in the mining town of Saint Bathans. The eponym for the specific epithet "jennyworthyae" is Jennifer P. Worthy: in recognition of her pivotal role in revealing the diversity of the St Bathans Fauna. Jennifer Worthy is the scientist who discovered the fossils of V. jennyworthyae. The fossilized remains were found in sediments approximately 16–19 million years old.[6]
Paleobiology[]
The presence of a large hypocone on its upper molars indicates that it was not strictly carnivorous. A large, blunt hypocone is the general indicative of herbivory. It would have lived among the trees while also foraging on the ground. It is theorized to likely consume invertebrates such as insects and spiders. Their diet likely included a range of animals and plants and resembled the South American species of the Mystacinidae, consuming greater amounts of plant-based foods than the smaller and more carnivorous modern Australasian species.
Other Wikis[]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/vulcanops-jennyworthyae-giant-burrowing-bat-05620.html
- ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18403-w
- ↑ http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2018/01/vulcanops.html
- ↑ https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/meet-vulcanops-giant-burrowing-bat-and-ghost-of-gondwana
- ↑ https://tr.ulfsciences.com/meet-vulcanops-giant-burrowing-bat-31307
- ↑ https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/giant-extinct-burrowing-bat-discovered-new-zealand