Wyonycteris fossil map
Where fossils of Wyonycteris have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 56 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 56 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 →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 60.9–48.07 million years ago (Selandian to Ypresian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Nyctitheriidae |
| Named by | Gingerich 1987 |
| Fossil records | 30 occurrences at 12 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium |
| Rock formations | Fort Union, Willwood, Wasatch, Blackheath Beds, Tuscahoma, Argiles d'lignite du Soissonnais |
About Wyonycteris
Wyonycteris is a genus of small mammals that existed in the late Paleocene and early Eocene epochs. The type species is Wyonycteris chalix, which lived in Wyoming during the Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age of the Paleocene and was originally proposed to be an early form of insectivorous bat. Later re-examination of the material has put this alliance in doubt, and the genus has instead been proposed as belonging to the subfamily Placentidentinae, within the family Nyctitheriidae. Similar fossil material of the same time period found in Europe was later discovered and described as new species, Wyonycteris richardi.
Secord (2008) described the first known species of Wyonycteris from the Tiffanian NALMA, Wyonycteris galensis and W. microtis, although the status of both species as members of Wyonycteris has been questioned. The two largest species, W. primitivus and W. kingi, are known from the early Eocene of Mississippi and England, respectively.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Wyonycteris (revision 1291853273), 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: Q63967852.
