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Nature 429, 621 (10 June 2004) | doi:10.1038/429621a

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Palaeontology:  Pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous

Xiaolin Wang & Zhonghe Zhou

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An impressive fossil discovered in China confirms that pterosaurs were egg-layers.

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Dinosaur embryos have been discovered all over the world1, 2, but so far no pterosaur embryos have been reported. Here we describe a Chinese fossil from the Early Cretaceous period containing an embryo that is unambiguously a pterosaur. The embryonic skeleton, which is exquisitely preserved in its egg, is associated with eggshell fragments, wing membranes and skin imprints. This discovery confirms that pterosaurs were egg-layers and sheds new light on our understanding of pterosaur development.

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