First 3D Pterosaur Eggs Discovered in China

The first three dimensional preserved eggs of pterosaur have been found in China among dozens of well-preserved pterosaur fossils.

The newly discovered three-dimensionally well preserved five pterosaur eggs from China represent a new genus and species of pterosaur known as Hamipterus tianshanensis.  Pterosaurs were the prehistoric winged reptiles that dominated the skies during the dinosaur era.  Their wingspan varied from 12 to 25 cms and they thrived in groups in gregarious colonies.

Prior to this find, there were just four flattened pterosaur eggs known to science. This discovery is interesting as the researchers discovered several male and female well preserved fossils of pterosaurs along with their eggs.

"Five eggs are three-dimensionally preserved, and some are really complete," Xiaolin Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, said.

The well preserved fossilized eggs of the new genus of pterosaur were initially excavated in the year 2005 in the Turpan-Hami Basin that is located in south of the Titan Shan Mountains in Xinjiang in northwestern China.

According to the researchers, the region may still have thousands of bones. Based on the analysis of the sediments that hold the fossilized remains, the researchers suggest that a massive storm some 120 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period might have led to the disappearance of the pterosaurs.

The researchers examined one of the better specimens of the pterosaur eggs and found it to be flexible with a thin, calcareous eggshell outside and a soft, thick membrane within. They are similar to the eggs of the modern day snakes. They also observed nearly 40 female and male adult pterosaur specimens and traced the differences in the size, shape, sexes and strength of the head crests

Bases on the number of fossils found, the researchers strongly feel that a nesting site existed near the region and is an indication of their gregarious behavior, the scientists feel. A lot is still to be explored about this species.

"Sites like the one reported here provide further evidence regarding the behaviour and biology of this amazing group of flying reptiles that has no parallel in modern time," the researchers write.

The finding was documented in the Cell Press journal Current Biology.