Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 44(1) 2001

Issue:

VOL 44(1) 2001

Keywords:

Megachiroptera, Miocene, Poland

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The northernmost locality of fruit bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) in the Miocene of Bełchatów (Poland)

• Barbara RZEBIK-KOWALSKA
• Kazimierz KOWALSKI

Abstract:

An isolated tooth (probably P₄) of a fruit bat was found in the Miocene sediments of the brown-coal mine of Bełchatów (Central Poland). The absolute date and the accompanying fauna of mammals suggest the early Miocene age (MN4). Bełchatów (51°15’N, 19°20’E) is the northernmost locality of fossil Megachiroptera. Their presence indicates a tropical climate and forest vegetation. The size of the tooth is similar to that of the recent species Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. GEOFFROY-ST. HILAIRE, 1810), but the scarce material is insufficient for precise identification.