News about the ancestors of pterosaurs

The ancestors of the pterosaurs , those flying reptiles popularized by Hollywood productions who lived during the Mesozoic, have so far remained unknown. This is despite the fact that the first pterosaur fossils were discovered in 1784 .

But according to a study published earlier this month in the journal Nature, we now know that pterosaurs and Lagerpetidae , basal dinosauromorphs of the Upper Triassic, are said to be closely related to the same family tree. These two groups would therefore share a common ancestor . However, we don't know which animal it is.

Photo by Sebastian Ganso. Credits Pixabay

This discovery, given its improbability, was a very big surprise for researchers. Moreover, even if we still do not know how the ancestors of the pterosaurs could well have evolved to allow their descendants to fly, the link between the pterosaurs and the Lagerpetidae could perhaps give us some clues.

< h2 style = ""> In-depth examinations to make the link between the two groups

You should know that at the beginning, because of their morphology, the researchers believed that the Lagerpetidae were from the same family as the dinosaurs. But as more and more complete bones were discovered, scientists found that the Lagerpetidae were rather closer to the pterosaurs .

And despite theirs many glaring differences, the connection between the two species was obvious. Indeed, in addition to having a morphology totally different from that of the pterosaurs, the Lagerpetidae could not fly.

However, following

Differences allowing for a picture of pterosaur ancestors

In order to compare the Lagerpetidae and the pterosaurs, the scientists analyzed the bones of specimens of the two groups via a tomodensitometric analysis. They then found that the brain as well as the ears of the 2 species were strongly similar . They also suggest that

As Sterling Nesbitt, professor points outgeoscience associate at Virginia Tech, thanks to the Lagerpetidae, we can now imagine what the flightless ancestors of the pterosaurs looked like.

For precision, the Lagerpetidae are not the ancestors of pterosaurs . But thanks to this recent discovery, we will probably soon be able to learn more about the evolution of the latter.