哈密翼龙及其3D胚胎化石研究

 翼龙是地球上第一类飞向天空也是唯一绝灭的飞行脊椎动物，人类对其产卵繁殖、生长发育和生活习性等方面的了解还十分有限。本文介绍了一件超过200枚哈密翼龙蛋、胚胎和骨骼化石三位一体保存的重要标本，包括16枚翼龙蛋含有三维立体的胚胎化石。针对这件全世界首次发现的3D翼龙胚胎，研究提出哈密翼龙具有相对早熟的胚胎发育模式，其后肢发育速度较前肢快，孵化之后只能走不能飞；胚胎发育期间牙齿尚未萌出，出生后还需要父母照料；从胚胎到亚成年都具有快速生长的骨骼结构；显示哈密翼龙具有群居的生活习性，白垩纪的湖泊风暴导致其集群死亡并快速埋藏。

Study on Hamipterus and their 3D embryos

Pterosaur is the first flying vertebrate and the only extinct group on the earth. The knowledge of its reproduction, development and life history is limited. Here we report on a large block of specimen gathering more than two hundred eggs, embryos and bones of Hamipterus. Sixteen eggs contain 3D embryonic remains, which was the first discovery of 3D embryos. This paper led to the hypothesis that Hamipterus might have been less precocious than advocated for pterosaurs in general. The hind limbs have developed more rapidly compared to the forelimbs and might have been functional right after the animal hatched, suggesting newborns were likely to move around but were not able to fly. No tooth was found in the embryonic development, indicating newborns probably needed some parental care. The histological thin-sections from embryos to sub-adults all show fast growth bones. This paper also advanced the gregarious behavior of Hamipterus, and proposed that the Cretaceous storms might cause the mass mortality and buried fossils very fast.