Fossils show that some pterosaurs may have sported a fluffy coat

摘要

Think of pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that were distant cousins to dinosaurs, and you may imagine a fearsome, leathery creature. But new fossil evidence suggests that some pterosaurs were fluffy, covered in an array of fibrous structures, including possible precursors of feathers.Paleontologist Zixiao Yang of Nanjing University in China and colleagues identified four types of filaments called pycnofibers on two fossilized pterosaurs (one at right), dated to about 165 million to 160 million years ago. Examples of each fiber type are shown in the fossil images below.