Life reconstruction of Meilifeilong youhao. (Photo: China News Service/Sun Zifa)
The new pterosaur species lived in China during the Early Cretaceous epoch, between 125 and 113 million years ago.
Fossil specimen of Meilifeilong youhao. (Photo: China News Service/Sun Zifa)
Fossil specimen of Meilifeilong youhao. (Photo: China News Service/Sun Zifa)
Dr. WANG Xiaolin, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team reported on hundreds of three-dimensional (3D) pterosaur eggs of the species Hamipterus tianshanensis from a Lower Cretaceous site in the Turpan-Hami Basin, 16 of which contain embryonic remains, allowing for an unexpected look at the embryology and reproductive strategy of these flying reptiles. Their study was published online 30 November in Science.
Over 200 three-dimensionally preserved eggs of pterosaurs have been unearthed in China, providing new insight into the life history of the rulers of the skies in the age of dinosaurs. The findings on the pterosaur species, known as Hamipterus tianshanensis, were discovered by researchers at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in Science.
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