Fossil of Primitive Bat Found in Wyoming

A fossil found in Wyoming has apparently resolved a long standing question about when bats gained their radar-like ability to navigate and locate airborne insects at night. The answer: after they started fling. The discovery revealed the most primitive bat known, from a previously unrecognized species that lived some 25.5 million years ago. Its skeleton shows it could fly, but that it lacked a series of bony features associated with the ability to emit high pitched sounds and then hear them bounce back from objects and prey. Until now, all the early known fossil bats showed evidence of both flying and making these high pitched sounds.

Deadly Virus Linked to Fruit Bat

US and Gabonese scientists say a common type of fruit bat could be the source of an outbreak of the deadly Marburg disease in Africa. The scientists tested more than 1,000 bats caught in caves in Gabon and DR Congo, and found some members of one species were infected with the virus. Outbreaks of the Marburg disease have hit sub-Saharan Africa in the past. Marburg is a contageous disease characterized by sudden bleeding and high fever, often ending in death.