Washington - (Reuters) - The most primitive bat ever found fluttered around about 52 million years ago. A team of scientists announced the discovery of a medium-sized ancient bat called Onychonycteris finneyi that possessed fully developed wings and was completely capable of flying. But based on the evidence from its skeleton it lacked the ability to echolocate.

Kevin Seymour of the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, said this bat appears to settle a long-standing debate of which came first in bats -- echolocation or flight. The answer is flight.

"It's the most primitive bat that we know. It could clearly fly. But it could not echolocate. The evidence from the skull and throat region shows us none of the features that echolocating bats have," he said.

The wingspan of Onychonycteris was about 12 inches. It had short, broad wings, suggesting it probably could not fly as quickly as most bats that appeared later. Rather than flapping its wings continuously while flying, it may have alternated flapping and gliding while in the air.
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