 Along with the contemporary "Hassianycteris", "Palaeochiropteryx" is among the first fossil mammals to have its coloration determined through analysis of melanosomes.Fossils of both species of "Palaeochiropteryx" were first recovered from the Messel Pit, near the village of Messel, Germany in 1917.They were described and named by the Swiss naturalist Pierre Revilliod.