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Scientists now know the origins of pterosaurs, the dinosaur era's flying reptiles

10 Dec 2020, 03:00 PM IST



Flying beasts


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Flying beasts



Pterosaurs are flying reptiles that ruled the skies at the same time that dinosaurs dominated the land about 220 million years ago. They were fully developed for flight and had wings formed by a membrane extending from the ankles to an exceptionally elongated fourth finger, studies suggested. While starting relatively small, pterosaurs eventually achieved huge dimensions, with wingspans reaching 35 feet (10.7 meters).

iStock




Enduring mystery solved


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Enduring mystery solved



Pterosaurs’ origin however was shrouded in a mystery till now. Scientists may have now solved this enduring mystery. “We have been studying how birds transformed their bodies for flight for the last 50 years and most of this was driven by extraordinary fossils of dinosaurs and early birds,” Virginia Tech paleontologist and study co-author Sterling Nesbitt said. “Pterosaurs have not experienced this renaissance of understanding yet because we didn’t have the fossils.”

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Precursors found


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Precursors found



Researchers said on Wednesday a poorly understood Triassic Period reptile group called lagerpetids, known from a few partial skeletons from the United States, Argentina, Brazil and Madagascar, appears to have been the evolutionary precursor to pterosaurs.

Reuters




Flightless insect-eaters


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Flightless insect-eaters



Lagerpetids, first appeared about 237 million years ago, were generally small and may have been bipedal insect-eaters. They could not fly. Pterosaurs became Earth’s first flying vertebrates, with birds and then bats appearing much later.

Reuters




Ancestors of dinos too


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Ancestors of dinos too



Lagerpetids also appear to be closely related to dinosaurs, the researchers said. The oldest-known dinosaur dates to about 233 million years ago. Pterosaurs disappeared 66 million years ago in the asteroid collision that also doomed the dinosaurs.

iStock


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Scientists now know the origins of pterosaurs, the dinosaur era's flying reptiles Scientists now know the origins of pterosaurs, the dinosaur era's flying reptiles Reviewed by TechCO on 12/10/2020 Rating: 5

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