Abstract
Paleontology![Figure][1] Flying squirrels, like this Petaurista alborufus , resemble 11.6-million-year-old fossils of Miopetaurista . PHOTO: WILL BURRARD-LUCAS/MINDEN PICTURES Of all the vertebrate groups, mammals possess the greatest variation in form, from giant whales to tiny bumblebee bats. Between these extremes, flying squirrels provide another example of remarkable mammalian adaptation. Flying squirrels comprise a group of 52 species that have evolved to glide from tree to tree by means of large skin flaps between their forelimbs and hindlimbs. There has been much debate about when flying squirrels diverged from their more conventional relatives. Casanovas-Vilar et al. describe a flying squirrel fossil from the early Miocene, about 11.6 million years ago, the most complete one found to date. The Miopetaurista fossil is remarkably similar to the extant giant flying squirrels in the genus Petaurista , even down to the highly adapted wrist bones, indicating a stasis in form of these tropical forest denizens. eLife 7 , e39270 (2018). [1]: pending:yes
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