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Myzopoda fossil map

Where fossils of Myzopoda have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.

Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →

Myzopoda
Image: Dan Riskin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
GroupEarly mammals
Lived2.58–0.774 million years ago (Gelasian to Calabrian)
PeriodsQuaternary
FamilyMyzopodidae
Named byMilne-Edwards and Grandidier 1878
Fossil records2 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB)
Found inTanzania
Rock formationstxn:40661

About Myzopoda

Myzopoda is a genus of bat, the only member of the monotypic family Myzopodidae, with two described species. Myzopodidae is unique as the only family of bats currently endemic to Madagascar. However, fossil discoveries indicate that the family has an ancient lineage in Africa, extending from the Pleistocene as far back as the late Eocene.

Based on nuclear DNA sequence data, Myzopodidae appears to be basal in the Gondwanan superfamily Noctilionoidea, most of whose members are neotropical. The origin and initial diversification of Noctilionoidea may have occurred in Africa prior to their dispersal to Australia and South America, probably via Antarctica. On the basis of fossil and molecular clock evidence, myzopodids are estimated to have split off from the rest of Noctilionoidea about 50 (46 to 57) million years ago.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Myzopoda (revision 1362136898), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q2610306.

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