Giant flying squirrels that were as big as house cats glided across North America around 5 million years ago, researchers have discovered, after identifying an unusual fossil found inside an ancient sinkhole.
Researchers identified the flying squirrel fossil among a cache of animal remains that were unearthed in Tennessee 25 years ago. The specimen belongs to an extinct genus called Miopetaurista, which are more commonly found in Asia, though there are two purported examples from Florida, according to a study published Feb. 21 in the Journal of Mammalian Evolution.
