BEIJING: Scientists have found more than 200 fossilised eggs of pterosaurs in China, providing an insight into the life history of ancient flying reptiles.
The findings, published in the journal Science, suggest that the eggs are from the species known as Hamipterus tianshanensis.
Pterosaurs were the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight and they dominated the skies during the age of dinosaurs.
Till now, only 11 pterosaur eggs have been found, three of which have fossilised embryos inside, Xinhua news agency reported.
Five of the eggs were also found in the Turpan-Hami Basin in northwestern China.
“The eggs are in an accumulation without a preferential orientation, clearly showing transport” caused by strong winds and storms at that time, said researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“Their external surface shows cracking and crazing, and all are deformed to a certain extent, which indicate their pliable nature,” they said. (AGENCIES)
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