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First Pterosaur Embryo Fossil Discovered

Posted by timothy on from the sounds-like-an-omelet dept.

blamanj writes "A fossil embryo, preserved in an almost complete egg was found in the sediment of a lake in Liaoning in northeastern China. The Liaoning embryo has a wingspan of 10.6 inches, indicating that the embryo would have grown up into a medium-to-large pterosaur."

3 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. medium to large by pizza_milkshake · · Score: 4, Funny

    it also would have made one hell of an omellete.

  2. Dinosaurs Among Us? by Ieshan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Interested parties might want to check out the following article from Avian Visual Cognition: Dinosaurs Among Us?

    This article is a discussion of avian evolution from an avian physiology expert and the possible "bird-dinosaur" connection.

    Very interesting stuff.

  3. Bad embryology by yet+another+coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Maybe you are joking.

    Humans have gill slits, not gills, and limb buds, not fins or wings. The old saying is "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny." It is not exactly true, though. The embryology of humans resembles that of many mammals. It resembles fish embryology, too, but not for as long. We share similar adult body patterns and similar patterning genes to many animals, and our early embryology can looks similar. It is not as if we grow to be fish really early and then keep going since we are more evolved than fish.