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====Fossil record and divergence times==== The fossil record for pteropodid bats is the most incomplete of any bat family. Although the poor skeletal record of Chiroptera is probably from how fragile bat skeletons are, Pteropodidae still have the most incomplete despite generally having the biggest and most sturdy skeletons. It is also surprising that Pteropodidae are the least represented because they were the first major group to diverge.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Emily E. |last2=Cashmore |first2=Daniel D. |last3=Simmons |first3=Nancy B. |last4=Butler |first4=Richard J. |date=2019-03-25 |editor-last=Mannion |editor-first=Philip |title=Quantifying the completeness of the bat fossil record |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/pala.12426 |journal=Palaeontology |language=en |publisher=Paleobiology Database |volume=62 |issue=5 |pages=757β776 |doi=10.1111/pala.12426 |bibcode=2019Palgy..62..757B |s2cid=133901426 |issn=0031-0239}}</ref> Several factors could explain why so few pteropodid fossils have been discovered: tropical regions where their fossils might be found are under-sampled relative to Europe and North America; conditions for fossilization are poor in the tropics, which could lead to fewer fossils overall; and even when fossils are formed, they may be destroyed by subsequent geological activity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Eiting|first1=T. P.|last2=Gunnell|first2=G. F.|year=2009|title=Global Completeness of the Bat Fossil Record|journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution|volume=16|issue=3|pages=157|doi=10.1007/s10914-009-9118-x|s2cid=5923450}}</ref> It is estimated that more than 98% of pteropodid fossil history is missing.<ref name="Teeling 2005">{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1105113|pmid=15681385|title=A Molecular Phylogeny for Bats Illuminates Biogeography and the Fossil Record|journal=Science|volume=307|issue=5709|pages=580β584|year=2005|last1=Teeling|first1=E. C.|last2=Springer|first2=M. S.|last3=Madsen|first3=O.|last4=Bates|first4=P.|last5=O'Brien|first5=S. J.|last6=Murphy|first6=W. J.|bibcode=2005Sci...307..580T|s2cid=25912333| url=https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/bionb4240/Reprints/Bat%20phylogeny%20Teeling%20et%20al%202005.pdf}}</ref> Even without fossils, the age and divergence times of the family can still be estimated by using [[computational phylogenetics]]. Pteropodidae split from the superfamily [[Rhinolophoidea]] (which contains all the other families of the suborder Yinpterochiroptera) approximately 58 Mya (million years ago).<ref name="Teeling 2005"/> The ancestor of the [[crown group]] of Pteropodidae, or all living species, lived approximately 31 Mya.<ref name="Almeida 2009"/>
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