Palaeontology: pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous.
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.
Wang
Xiaolin
X
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing 100044, China. xlinwang@263.net
Zhou
Zhonghe
Z
D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D025061:Dinosaurs / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000196:embryology*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005580:Fossils; D010063:Ovum; D012863:Skeleton; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013997:Time Factors