Pterosauria is a unique group of flying reptiles from the Mesozoic era. Early groups of pterosaurs underwent changes, reorganization, adaptive radiation, and replacement of their body structures, eventually evolving into the suborder Pterodactyloidea midway through their long history.
Pterosaurs is a highly specialized suborder, containing the largest flying creatures. The sudden appearance of this large set of morphological features likely stems from a terrestrial environment, although the fossil record of pterosaurs in terrestrial environments has been scarce, and many of its characteristics suggest that pterosaurs adapted to these environments. However, little evidence has been available to verify this hypothesis, and it is not supported by previous phylogenetic studies or early pterosaur discoveries.
Reconstruction of the Kryptodrakon progenitor, gen.et sp.nov.
Brian Andres, James Clark, and Xu Xing reported in the journal Current Biology that the earliest pterosaur fossil with slender metacarpals was found at the Middle Jurassic-Upper Jurassic boundary in the terrestrial facies of northwestern China. Based on this characteristic, they classified it into the suborder Pterosauria and named it a new genus and species, Kryptodrakon progenitor, gen.et sp.nov.
Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that this species is the most basal pterosaur and indicates the terrestrial origin and predominantly terrestrial history of pterosaurs. A phylogenetic comparison of wing shape and environment also revealed a significant correlation between pterosaurs and modern flying vertebrates, supporting the reconstruction that pterosaurs lived in, or at least adapted to, their environment.
Kryptodrakon progenitor, gen.et sp.nov. fossil
