Hassianycteris messelensis SMITH & STORCH, 1981

Taxonomy

Bat

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Hassianycterididae
Genus: Hassianycteris
Species: Hassianycteris messelensis
Author Citation SMITH & STORCH, 1981

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Cenozoic
Period: Paleogene
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Eocene
International Age: Lutetian

Stratigraphy

Messel Formation

Provenance

Collector: T. Bastelberger
Date Collected: 06/01/1970
Acquired by: Field Collection

Dimensions

Length: 5.5 cm
Width: 4 cm

Location

Messel Pit
Messel near Darmstadt
Hesse
Germany

• darmstadt
• eocene
• hassianycteris
• lutetian
• messel
• tff-oilshale-ch197

Comments

 

Prepped by transfer method found in: Toombs, Harry; Rixon, A. E. (1950). "The use of plastics in the ‘transfer method’ of preparing fossils". The Museums Journal. 50: 105–107.

Picture 1: Body.

Picture 2: Close up of skull and ear.

Four bat genera with a total of 8 species are currently known from Messel: Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon; Palaeochiropteryx spiegeli; Archaeonycteris trigonodon; Archaenycteris pollex; Trachypteron franzeni; Hassianycteris messelensis; Hassianycteris magna and Hassianycteris? revilliodi. The genus Palaeochiropteryx is the most common and smallest bat from Messel with a wingspan of around 26 to 29 cm. Archaeonycteris is rarer and somewhat larger, the wingspan is about 37 cm. The largest bat in Messel is Hassianycteris magna with a wingspan of almost 50 cm.

Taxonomy according to Fossilworks.

Diagnosis for Hassianycteris messelensis is from SMITH & STORCH, 1981: “Overall size large (Tab. 1); dental formula I 2/3  C 1/1  P 2(3)/3  M 3/3  = 36 (38), first upper premolar (P 2/ ) absent in messelensis n. sp. and reduced to a tiny spicule in magna n. sp.; third lower premolar (P /4) not molariform, metaconid lacking and taloned short; dentition massive and high; naso-maxillary branch of premaxillary moderately broad, palatal branch not well developed, premaxillaries not fused; nasals long; phalangeal formula (manus) 2, 2, 3, 3, 3; index finger not terminating with claw; fifth metacarpal markedly short compared to third and fourth metacarpals; radius extremely long and characteristically bowed.”

Identified by SMITH & STORCH, 1981 (reference number Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg SMF 80/1381; this is one of the paratypes in their publication).

Reference:

Smith, J. D. & Storch, G. (1981): New Middle Eocene bats from “Grube Messel” near Darmstadt, W-Germany. Senckenbergiana biologica, 61 (3/4): 153-167. 

Richter, G. & Storch, G. (1980): Beiträge zur Ernährungsbiologie eozäner Fledermäuse aus der "Grube Messel". Natur und Museum, 110 (12), p. 353-367.