Friday, 1 December 2017

Pterosaur eggs eggsamined (sorry about that - couldn't resist)

Did Hamipterus Chicks Fly when Hatched? - NO

The recent finding of large numbers of fossilised pterosaur eggs in China has allowed research into their embryology to take place. The pterosaur is Hamipterus which lived in the early Cretaceous. 

The research, reported by a Bristol researcher HERE, indicates that the ends of the wing bones were not fully developed suggesting that areas for major muscle attachments were absent and therefore the muscles were not developed. So forget "flaplings". Presumably the parent(s) fed them in the nest.

Hamipterus eggs

The obligatory scary flying dinosaur picture

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