A reason to visit Beijing

Beijing Fossil Mammal Exhibition

The Guardian has this report on a public exhibition at the Beijing Museum of Natural History. To quote "(for the) dedicated palaeontologist fanbase."

The writer, Elsa Panciroli, describes many fossils which suggest mammals (and us) started in the late Triassic and were not all cowering wee beasties. Indeed one fed on (small) dinosaurs!

But the best specimen, in my opinion is Maiopatagium, a Jurassic mammal which was a tree glider.

 Maiopatagium, a Jurassic mammal fossil from China. Fur impressions are preserved around the fossil, indicating it had a patagium (skin-flap) that would have allowed it to glide between trees. Photograph: Zhe-Xi Luo

You will have to be quick - the exhibition ends at the end of July.