Image credit: Alfons Schueler
Based on a new discovery, there have been over 200 fossilized eggs of the Cretaceous pterosaur species Hamipterus tianshanensis found in China
Until recently, pterosaur eggs were incredibly rare with only eight that have been found. Embryos and well-preserved structures were discovered to be inside of them.
A CT scan was used to observe the contents of the eggs by Dr. Xiaolin Wang from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his colleagues.
They found that samples had well-developed thigh bones, but they had underdeveloped pectoral muscles as well. This means they would be unable to fly, therefore needing parental care as well as long incubation periods.
Quote from Dr. Xiaolin Wang “Lastly, the fact that a single collection of embryos exhibits a range of developmental stages hints that pterosaurs participated in colonial nesting behavior.”
Read more about this fascinating story at: www.sci-news.com
Or read the full study at: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6367/1197
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