Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi
Abstract The evolutionary transition to powered flight remains controversial in bats, the only flying mammals. We applied aerodynamic modeling to reconstruct flight in the oldest complete fossil bat, the archaic Onychonycteris finneyi from the early Eocene of North America. Results indicate that Ony...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06032-9 |
| _version_ | 1797233373730570240 |
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| author | Norberto P. Giannini Alan Cannell Lucila I. Amador Nancy B. Simmons |
| author_facet | Norberto P. Giannini Alan Cannell Lucila I. Amador Nancy B. Simmons |
| author_sort | Norberto P. Giannini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The evolutionary transition to powered flight remains controversial in bats, the only flying mammals. We applied aerodynamic modeling to reconstruct flight in the oldest complete fossil bat, the archaic Onychonycteris finneyi from the early Eocene of North America. Results indicate that Onychonycteris was capable of both gliding and powered flight either in a standard normodense aerial medium or in the hyperdense atmosphere that we estimate for the Eocene from two independent palaeogeochemical proxies. Aerodynamic continuity across a morphological gradient is further demonstrated by modeled intermediate forms with increasing aspect ratio (AR) produced by digital elongation based on chiropteran developmental data. Here a gliding performance gradient emerged of decreasing sink rate with increasing AR that eventually allowed applying available muscle power to achieve level flight using flapping, which is greatly facilitated in hyperdense air. This gradient strongly supports a gliding (trees-down) transition to powered flight in bats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:15:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b8708177b0249a4af18295e7964671f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:15:09Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b8708177b0249a4af18295e7964671f2024-03-31T11:28:58ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422024-03-017111010.1038/s42003-024-06032-9Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyiNorberto P. Giannini0Alan Cannell1Lucila I. Amador2Nancy B. Simmons3Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, CONICET-Fundación Miguel LilloISIPU - Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia UmanaUnidad Ejecutora Lillo, CONICET-Fundación Miguel LilloDepartment of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural HistoryAbstract The evolutionary transition to powered flight remains controversial in bats, the only flying mammals. We applied aerodynamic modeling to reconstruct flight in the oldest complete fossil bat, the archaic Onychonycteris finneyi from the early Eocene of North America. Results indicate that Onychonycteris was capable of both gliding and powered flight either in a standard normodense aerial medium or in the hyperdense atmosphere that we estimate for the Eocene from two independent palaeogeochemical proxies. Aerodynamic continuity across a morphological gradient is further demonstrated by modeled intermediate forms with increasing aspect ratio (AR) produced by digital elongation based on chiropteran developmental data. Here a gliding performance gradient emerged of decreasing sink rate with increasing AR that eventually allowed applying available muscle power to achieve level flight using flapping, which is greatly facilitated in hyperdense air. This gradient strongly supports a gliding (trees-down) transition to powered flight in bats.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06032-9 |
| spellingShingle | Norberto P. Giannini Alan Cannell Lucila I. Amador Nancy B. Simmons Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi Communications Biology |
| title | Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi |
| title_full | Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi |
| title_fullStr | Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi |
| title_short | Palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the Eocene bat, Onychonycteris finneyi |
| title_sort | palaeoatmosphere facilitates a gliding transition to powered flight in the eocene bat onychonycteris finneyi |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06032-9 |
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