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Volaticotherium antiquum; Fossil range: Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous
	Life restoration of Volaticotherium antiquum
Conservation status
	Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Chordata;
Class:	Mammalia;
Subclass:	Allotheria;
Order:	†Volaticotheria; Meng et al., 2006
Family:	†Volaticotheriidae;
Genus:	†Volaticotherium;
Species:	V. antiquum;
Binomial name
	Volaticotherium antiquum; Meng et al., 2006

Volaticotherium antiquum was an actively mobile ancient gliding insectivorous mammal of the family Volaticotheriidae that lived in what would become Asia during the Jurassic from 167.7—150.8 mya, existing for approximately 16.9 million years.^[1]

It was not closely related to any other mammalian group currently known. It had a gliding membrane similar to a modern-day flying squirrel. The teeth of Volaticotherium were highly specialized for eating insects, and its limbs were adapted to living in trees. The gliding membrane (patagium) was insulated by a thick covering of fur, and was supported by the limbs as well as the tail. The discovery of Volaticotherium provided the earliest-known record of a gliding mammal (70 million years older than the next oldest example),^[2] and provided further evidence of mammalian diversity during the Mesozoic Era.

Volaticotherium fossils were recovered from the Daohugou Beds of Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China. The age of the Daohugou Beds is currently uncertain and the subject of debate — they appear to be either preceding or around the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous boundary (c. 140-120 mya).^[3] The description was published in an issue of the journal Nature.^[4]

[edit] References

^ PaleoBiology Database: Volaticotherium, basic info
^ Smithsonian Magazine (2007). "Wild Things: Life As We Know It". Smithsonian Magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/wild_things_feb07.html. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
^ Wang, X., Zhou, Z., He, H., Jin, F., Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Wang, Y., Xu, X. & Zhang, F. (2005). "Stratigraphy and age of the Daohugou Bed in Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia." Chinese Science Bulletin, 50(20): 2369-2376.
^ Meng, J., Hu, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, X., Li, C. (Dec 2006). "A Mesozoic gliding mammal from northeastern China". Nature 444 (7121): 889–893. doi:10.1038/nature05234. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7121/abs/nature05234.html.

Meng, J., Y.-M. Hu, Y.-Q. Wang, X.-L. Wang, and C.-K. Li. 2007. Corrigendum: A Mesozoic gliding mammal from northeastern China. Nature 446:102.

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[0] PaleoBiology Database: Volaticotherium, basic info

[1] Smithsonian Magazine (2007). "Wild Things: Life As We Know It". Smithsonian Magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/wild_things_feb07.html. Retrieved 2008-02-22.

[Wangetal06-2] Wang, X., Zhou, Z., He, H., Jin, F., Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Wang, Y., Xu, X. & Zhang, F. (2005). "Stratigraphy and age of the Daohugou Bed in Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia." Chinese Science Bulletin, 50(20): 2369-2376.

[mengetal06-3] Meng, J., Hu, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, X., Li, C. (Dec 2006). "A Mesozoic gliding mammal from northeastern China". Nature 444 (7121): 889–893. doi:10.1038/nature05234. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7121/abs/nature05234.html.

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