Palaeontology: Pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous

@article{Wang2004PalaeontologyPE,
  title={Palaeontology: Pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous},
  author={Xiaolin Wang and Zhonghe Zhou},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2004},
  volume={429},
  pages={621-621}
}
Dinosaur embryos have been discovered all over the world, but so far no pterosaur embryos have been reported. Here we describe a Chinese fossil from the Early Cretaceous period containing an embryo that is unambiguously a pterosaur. The embryonic skeleton, which is exquisitely preserved in its egg, is associated with eggshell fragments, wing membranes and skin imprints. This discovery confirms that pterosaurs were egg-layers and sheds new light on our understanding of pterosaur development. 
View on Nature
nature.com
60 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
4
Background Citations
23

Figures from this paper

60 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Palaeobiology: Argentinian unhatched pterosaur fossil
TLDR
An embryonic fossil of a different pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous lacustrine deposits of Loma del Pterodaustro (the Lagarcito Formation) in central Argentina is described, providing insight into the eggshell morphology, early growth and nesting environments of pterosaurs.
The oldest known amniotic embryos suggest viviparity in mesosaurs
TLDR
The finds of exceptional, well-preserved amniotic mesosaur embryos from the Early Permian of Uruguay and Brazil provide the earliest direct evidence of reproductive biology in Paleozoic amniotes and the earliest known case of viviparity.
Palaeontology: Pterosaur egg with a leathery shell
TLDR
Another pterosaur egg is described whose exquisite preservation indicates that the shell structure was soft and leathery, confirming that the flying pterosaurs were oviparous.
Palaeontology: Which Came First, the Pterosaur or the Egg?
  • D. Martill
  • Environmental Science, Geography
    Current Biology
  • 2014
How pterosaurs bred
  • D. Deeming
  • Environmental Science, Geography
    Science
  • 2017
TLDR
Wang et al. (3) report the largest accumulation of Hamipterus pterosaur eggs found to date, which is a crucial advance in understanding pterOSaur reproduction.
Viviparity in a Triassic marine archosauromorph reptile
Eggs or embryos have been reported in various groups of fossil reptiles, where viviparity is a common mode of reproduction in aquatic taxa such as the ichthyopterygians, some groups of…
A New Ornithocheirid from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China
Abstract Based on a nearly complete skeleton with skull from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, a new ornithocheirid pterosaur: Boreopterus cuiae gen. et sp. nov. is erected. Boreopterus…
New Material of Feilongus (Reptilia: Pterosauria) from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Western Liaoning
Based on a new nearly naturally preserved skull and four cervical vertebrae of the pterosaur Feilongus sp. from the lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Beipiao, western Liaoning province,…
Eggshell and Histology Provide Insight on the Life History of a Pterosaur with Two Functional Ovaries.
TLDR
Pterosaurs laid eggs even smaller than previously thought and had a reproductive strategy more similar to basal reptiles than to birds, which shows that pterosaurs were highly precocial or needed parental care.
Prenatal development in pterosaurs and its implications for their postnatal locomotory ability
TLDR
Early ossification of the vertebral column, limb girdles and principal limb bones involved some heterochronic shifts in appearance times and facilitated full development of the flight apparatus prior to hatching, consistent with a super-precocial flight ability and suggests that it was not an absolute requirement.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 11 REFERENCES
A Theropod Dinosaur Embryo and the Affinities of the Flaming Cliffs Dinosaur Eggs
An embryonic skeleton of a nonavian theropod dinosaur was found preserved in an egg from Upper Cretaceous rocks in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Cranial features identify the embryo as a member of…
Sauropod dinosaur embryos from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia
TLDR
The first known unequivocal embryonic remains of sauropod dinosaurs—the only known non-avian dinosaur embryos from Gondwana—are described from a nesting ground in the Upper Cretaceous stage of Patagonia, Argentina and it is proposed that these specimens belong to the same sauroPod species.
Biostratigraphy of new pterosaurs from China
Pterosaurs are represented in China by five genera and some isolated bones ranging in age from the Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous period. Four of these genera belong to the derived…
The ontogeny of Pteranodon and other pterosaurs
TLDR
The bone of limb-bone shafts of immature individuals is fibro-lamellar bone, which suggests that they grew rapidly to adult size, and the extensive fusion of the mature skeleton suggest that Pteranodon had determinate growth.
An overview of the pterosaur assemblage from the Cambridge Greensand (Cretaceous) of Eastern England
TLDR
The Cambridge Greensand pterosaur assemblage is similar to a slightly younger, but much smaller assemblages from the Lower Chalk of England and shares some elements, such as ornithocheirids, in common with many other late Early and early Late Cretaceous assemblelages.
Evolution and palaeobiology of pterosaurs
TLDR
From the few fossils from the Bavarian lithographic limestones known to Cuvier and his contemporaries, the number of pterosaur specimens has increased enormously, starting with the Early Jurassic specimens from Lyme Regis found by Mary Anning in the 1820s.
On the systematic and stratigraphic significance of pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (Jehol Group) of Liaoning, China
Abstract. A reassessment of the systematic relationships of pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China, shows that Dendrorhynchoides should be reassigned to the…
On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs
  • D. Unwin
  • Biology
    Geological Society, London, Special Publications
  • 2003
TLDR
The pattern of pterosaur evolution suggested by the results of this analysis is broadly similar to traditional ideas, but has greater resolution, more complexity and reveals several previously unrecognized ‘events’.
Dates and rates in ancient lakes: 40Ar–39Ar evidence for an Early Cretaceous age for the Jehol Group, northeast China
The correlation of freshwater sediments in small, fault-bound basins in Liaoning Province, northeast China, known as the Jehol (or Rehe) Group, has been a subject of debate for many years, with bio...
1H MAS NMR spectra of hydroxyl species on diatomite surface
High spinning speed1H magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (1H MAS NMR) was used to detect surface hydroxyl groups of diatomite, which include isolated hydroxyl groups and hydrogen-bonded…
...
1
2
...