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jumbo flight squirrels that were as expectant as house cats glided across North America around 5 million years ago , researchers have discovered , after identifying an strange fogy find inside an ancient sinkhole .
research worker identified the fell squirrel dodo among a cache of animal remains that were unearthed in Tennessee 25 years ago . The specimen belongs to an nonextant genus calledMiopetaurista , which are more unremarkably constitute in Asia , though there are two propose examples from Florida , according to a study published Feb. 21 in theJournal of Mammalian Evolution .
A reconstruction of an extinctMiopetauristaflying squirrel from Europe, which would have been similar to the squirrel found in the U.S.
" It is amazing to imagine these giant flying squirrels gliding over rhinos and mastodon living in the forests of Tennessee 5 million years ago , " study co - authorJoshua Samuels , an associate professor of geosciences at East Tennessee State University , say in astatement .
The squad believes thatMiopetauristamoved into North America when the continent was plug in to Asia via theBering Land Bridgein the early Pliocene ( 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago).Miopetauristawould have find out tender forests in what is now Tennessee that were similar to those in Asia at the time , according to the study .
ThisMiopetauristaspecimen was identified from a single tooth unearth at the Gray Fossil Site in East Tennessee . Other fossils from this site discover that the region was teaming with unusual wildlife whenMiopetauristawas live .
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Researchers are still learning about the chronicle of flying squirrels , which have a spotty fossil record . The early North American examples date back to around 36 million old age ago . However , flying squirrels vanished from the fogey record around 9 million yr ago , before ostensibly reappearing withMiopetauristain Florida around 4 million years ago , according to the study .
The Gray Fossil Site is up to a million years older than the two fogey found in Florida , so the belated find is potentially the oldestMiopetauristafossil ever discovered in North America to day of the month .
The Gray Fossil Site sinkhole make and fill with urine around 5 million age ago . Surrounded by a woods , the resulting pond provided a drunkenness source for many ancient species . Sediment and mud then slowly filled the pond , burying and preserving animals that die at the site , agree toEast Tennessee State University .
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Miopetauristaweighed around3.3 pounds(1.5 kilograms ) , much heavier than the flying squirrels live Tennessee today . For example , Tennessee ’s northern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus ) weighs up to just 2.5 ounces ( 71 grams ) , according to theTennessee Wildlife Resources Agency .
Miopetauristathrived in what is now Tennessee until its warm ecosystems began cooling at the beginning of thePleistocenearound 2.6 million years ago . The Pleistocene work crank ages , likely forcingMiopetauristasouth to warmer regions such as Florida , according to the investigator .
" As the clime cool off over time , the Pleistocene Ice Ages led to the closing off of these giant flying squirrel in warmer refuges like Florida , and ultimately contributed to their extinction , ” field Colorado - authorMontserrat Grau - Camats , a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Paleontology in Spain , said in the instruction .
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