The egg indicates this ancient flying reptile was a female, and that realisation has allowed researchers to sex these creatures for the first time. Researchers now have to revise their previous concept that only males sported a head-crest. The researchers speculate she may have fallen from the sky during a storm or perhaps a volcanic eruption, sunk to the bottom of a lake and then been preserved in the sediments.
Pterosaurs, also sometimes referred to as pterodactyls, dominated the skies in the Mesozoic Era, 220-65 million years ago. Unlike the dinosaurs who lived at the same time, they were not dinosaurs themselves - a common misconception.
Pterosaurs weighed up to 500 pounds (227 kilograms). They probably took powerful leaping launches in less than a second from flat ground, with no aid from wind or ledges (Read more here). While airborne, pterosaurs took flight using all fours, not just their front extremities like birds.
No comments:
Post a Comment