''Maiopatagium'' ("greater patagium" from Latin maius, “greater, larger” + Modern Latin patagium, “ patagium”) is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of gliding

euharamiyids Euharamiyida also known as Eleutherodontida, is clade of early mammals or mammal-like cynodonts from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Eurasia and possibly North America. The group is sometimes considered a sister group to Multitubercula ...

which existed in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

during the

Jurassic period The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

. It possessed a patagium between its limbs and presumably had similar lifestyle to living flying squirrels and colugos. The type species is ''Maiopatagium furculiferum'', which was described from the

Tiaojishan Formation The Tiaojishan Formation is a geological formation in Hebei and Liaoning, People's Republic of China, dating to the middle-late Jurassic period (Bathonian- Oxfordian stages). It is known for its exceptionally preserved fossils, including those of ...

by Zhe-Xi Luo in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

; it lived in what is now the Liaoning region of China during the late Jurassic ( Oxfordian age).''Maiopatagium'' and ''

Vilevolodon ''Vilevolodon'' is an extinct, monotypic genus of volant, arboreal euharamiyids from the Oxfordian age of the Late Jurassic of China. The type species is ''Vilevolodon diplomylos''. The genus name ''Vilevolodon'' references its gliding capabili ...

'', described concurrently, offer clues to the ways various synapsids have taken to the skies over evolutionary time scales. A second species, ''M. sibiricum'', was described from the

Bathonian In the geologic timescale the Bathonian is an age and stage of the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 168.3 Ma to around 166.1 Ma (million years ago). The Bathonian Age succeeds the Bajocian Age and precedes the Callovian Age. Str ...

aged

Itat Formation The Itat Formation ( Russian: итатская свита) is a geologic formation in western Siberia. It was deposited in the Bajocian to Bathonian ages of the Middle Jurassic. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from ...

in western Siberia, Russia in 2019

References

Euharamiyids Prehistoric cynodont genera Bathonian life Callovian life Oxfordian life Middle Jurassic synapsids of Asia Late Jurassic synapsids of Asia Jurassic China Fossils of China Paleontology in Liaoning Fossil taxa described in 2017 Taxa named by Zhe-Xi Luo Taxa named by Qing-Jin Meng Taxa named by David M. Grossnickle Taxa named by Di Liu Taxa named by April I. Neander Taxa named by Yu-Guang Zhang Taxa named by Qiang Ji (paleontologist) {{jurassic-mammal-stub