Inferring echolocation in ancient bats/Veselka et al. reply

• Published in: Nature (London) 2010-08, Vol.466 (7309), p.E8
• Main Authors: Simmons, Nancy B, Seymour, Kevin L, Habersetzer, Jörg, Gunnell, Gregg F, Veselka, Nina, McErlain, David D, Holdsworth, David W, Eger, Judith L, Chhem, Rethy K, Mason, Matthew J, Brain, Kirsty L, Faure, Paul A, Fenton, M Brock
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Colleges & universities; Dentistry; Larynx; Museums; Neurosciences; Radiology
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687

Nature 463, 939-942 (2010) Laryngeal echolocation, used by most living bats to form images of their surroundings and to detect and capture flying prey1,2, is considered to be a key innovation for the evolutionary success of bats2,3, and palaeontologists have long sought osteological correlates of echolocation that can be used to infer the behaviour of fossil bats4-7. Because postcranial morphology indicates that O. finneyi could fly and phylogenetic analyses place it on the most basal branch within Chiroptera4, the 'flight first' hypothesis for the origin of flight and echolocation in bats3,4 remains the best-supported hypothesis for the origins of these key features. Nina Veselka1, David D. McErlain2,3, David W. Holdsworth2,4, Judith L. Eger5, Rethy K. Chhem6,7, Matthew J. Mason8, Kirsty L. Brain8, Paul A. Faure9 & M. Brock Fenton1 1Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada. e-mail: [e-mail] 2Imaging Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada. 3Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada. 4Department of Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5K8, Canada. 5Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada. 6Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Division of Human Health, 1090 Vienna, Austria. 7Division of Human Health, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, PO Box 200, 1400 Vienna, Austria. 8Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK. 9Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada. 1.