Hassianycteris messelensis was an early bat that lived in what is now Germany during the mid-Eocene, about 47 million years ago.
It’s generally considered to be very closely related to the common ancestry of modern bats – but a recent study suggests that the stem-bat evolutionary tree is actually quite a bit more complicated than previously thought.
It had a 35-40cm wingspan (~14″-16″), and thanks to the exceptional preservation of the Messel Pit fossil site we actually know some details about its external life appearance. One specimen preserves a soft-tissue impression of its ear shape, and fossilized melanosomes suggest that its fur was colored reddish-brown.
Its wing proportions indicate it was adapted to fly high and fast in open spaces, and its strong jaws and preserved gut contents show it mainly preyed on tough-shelled insects like beetles.
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