Palaeontology: pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous |
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Authors: | Wang Xiaolin Zhou Zhonghe |
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Institution: | Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China. xlinwang@263.net |
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Abstract: | 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. |
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