Ancient Giant Flying Squirrel Discovered in Tennessee

Ancient Giant Flying Squirrel Found in Tennessee

Fossils of a prehistoric giant flying squirrel, Miopetaurista, found at the Gray Fossil Site in Tennessee. Credit: Isaac Casanovas-Vilar / CC BY 4.0 An ancient giant flying squirrel once glided through the ancient forests of Southern Appalachia in Tennessee, USA, coexisting with rhinos, mastodons, and red pandas. Scientists say that discovering its fossils at the Gray Fossil Site offers new insights into the region’s past and sheds light on an u…

Giant Flying Squirrel Soared Through The North American Skies Nearly 5 Million Years Ago

This might sound nuts, but the squirrel was the size of a modern cat. Imagine that flying overhead.

Ancient Giant Flying Squirrel Discovered in Tennessee

A prehistoric giant flying squirrel once glided over ancient Appalachia but went extinct as the climate cooled. Its fossils, found at the Gray Fossil Site, reveal a surprising connection to Eurasian species. A giant flying squirrel, roughly the size of a modern house cat, once glided through the skies over what is now Southern Appalachia, [...]

Flying squirrels the size of cats soared over prehistoric Appalachia

‘It is amazing to imagine these giant flying squirrels gliding over rhinos and mastodons living in the forests of Tennessee.’

'Giant' Flying Squirrel Pulled From Ancient Sinkhole In Appalachian Mountains

Researchers at the Gray Fossil Site and Museum in northeastern Tennessee, have recently uncovered the remains of a 4.9-million-year-old giant flying squirrel (Miopetaurista webbi). The site, which has already yielded an impressive range of prehistoric creatures, including red pandas, rhinoceroses, and even the world’s largest known collection of tapir fossils, continues to surprise scientists with its potential for revealing new insights into an…

In the Appalachians, a new fossil was recently discovered, attracting the interest of scientists: it is the first giant flying squirrel ever identified. Found in Gray, this specimen of the genus Miopetaurista measured about the size of a domestic cat and weighed close to 1.4 kg. Although it has affinity with current species in Asia, [...]