Pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous

摘要

An impressive fossil discovered in China confirms were egg-layers 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 shedsnew light on our understanding of pterosaur development.