Latest List For Flight In Volaticotheres

Ichthyoconodon jaworowskorum by Julio Lacerda. Its my banner, why do you ask?

I’ve been less vocal than usual on flying volaticotheres lately, but given a recent jelly flood (from moribund site, no less…) I feel like I need to reaffirm that yes, this hypothesis is still very much viable. Here’s a list of reasons as to why:

• Carnivory. As stated before and again, gliding mammals are mostly herbivorous; this is kind of Meng 2017’s point, actually. Conversely, Volaticotherium antiquum has not only been compared to insectivorous bats (Meng 2006), but other taxa are large sized and are perfect bird-of-prey analogues in a Mesozoic devoid of other hawking predators.
• Distribution. From the beginning of the Jurassic to at least the mid-Cretaceous; that’s twice the range of any gliding mammal group. Likewise, Ichthyoconodon jaworowskorum occurs at sea, Argentoconodon fariasorum in southernmost Gondwana and now Sangarotherium aquilonium in the Arctic, where no other mammal would have gone until the Late Cretaceous.
• Limbs. See here.
• Teeth. Yes; this is a new development, and the basis of my current research. Stay tuned!

There is a surprise coming soon enough. Stay tuned!