Paleontologists Find Pterosaur Precursors That Fill A Gap in Early Evolutionary History
Published:24 Dec.2020 Source:Virginia Tech
Here's the original story of flight. Sorry, Wright Brothers, but this story began way before your time -- during the Age of the Dinosaurs. Pterosaurs were the earliest reptiles to evolve powered flight, dominating the skies for 150 million years before their imminent extinction some 66 million years ago.
However, key details of their evolutionary origin and how they gained their ability to fly have remained a mystery; one that paleontologists have been trying to crack for the past 200 years. In order to learn more about their evolution and fill in a few gaps in the fossil record, it is imperative that their closest relatives are identified.