Pterosaurs of the British Jurassic

摘要

During the Mesozoic, pterosaurs were the dominant volant vertebrates. Arising in the Middle-Late Triassic, they were spread globally by the Lower Jurassic, occurring from Europe to Antarctica. They appear to have undergone a speciation event in the Late Jurassic, leading to a boom in diversity throughout the Early Cretaceous (Butler et al.,2009). They became less numerous in the Late Cretaceous, reduced to only two groups in the Maastrichtian (Witton & Naish,2008).