Pterosaur eggs are in the news again. A specimen egg in the collection of a texas enthusiast, Dr Neal Naranjo, has been scanned to reveal a pterosaur embryo inside. The egg is destined to be included in the collections of a new museum at Lufkin, Texas.
archaeology news network blogspot
ktre.com
This is an unusual find and it will complement the previous finds from China and Argentina earlier this century. The images and location details have not yet been published, but when they are available, the study of pterosaur reproduction will be enhanced considerably. It is clear from the Chinese specimens that pterosaurs had eggs with thin leathery shells. The Argentine specimen was fossilised amongst juvenile animals which is a strong suggestion of birth and growth in colonies and it is apparent that pterosaurs were hatched with completely formed wings. Accepting that the shape and proportions of all of the known pterosaur eggs are similar, this small sample of 4 eggs is not enough information to look at variation over time. The published eggs all come from a period 100-130ma ago, which is a small time window in such a long evolutionary path.
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