In a recent issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, scientists report on the discovery of six new bat species dating to around 35 million years ago, which sheds new light on the early evolution of bats.
It took over 25 years of fieldwork to collect the 33 specimens that form the basis of the new study. "That translates to a little over one specimen per year - a lot of effort for a single fossil," said Erik Seiffert, a paleontologist at Stony Brook University. "But it shows just how important patience and long term field programs are to science. Our long-term commitment to field work certainly paid off in this case." Among the new species is "a giant among bats; though weighing in at less than a half-pound, it is one of the largest fossil bats ever discovered," said Greg Gunnell, a paleontologist at the University of Michigan.
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| ©Drawing by Bonnie Miljour |
| Reconstruction of Witwatia schlosseri, a new species of very large bat from the Fayum distric of Egypt. |
Comment: The American uniformatarianist school of climate change is clearly on the defense. What's missing from this critique is the complete lack of attention to obvious secondary impact craters dating to 12,900 years BP: the Carolina Bays.
As for Gabrielli's comment, one can judge the data from his paper for oneself (click image to enlarge):
Clearly, there is a spike around 12,900 years (first peak from the left in the shaded area. The graph is log-linear). Note also the increased depositional flux throughout the ice age and recall astronomer Victor Clube's talk: