The first pterosaur eggs that were preserved in three dimensions have been found in China, giving us a glimpse into the lives of flying reptiles.
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles, and ruled the skies in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods millions of years ago. Today, scientists share insights into how pterosaurs behaved, announcing a huge find of at least 40 fossilized individuals, along with five eggs beautifully preserved in three dimensions.
It’s the eggs that are the star of the show. Until now, only a few flattened pterosaur eggs had been found – this is the first time they’ve have been found in three dimensions. The fossils have a thin eggshell around a membrane. They seem to have been a bit squishy, similar to snake eggs today.
“It’s quite remarkable,” says John Long, a paleontologist at Flinders University, who was not involved in the study. “It’s one of the best preserved pterosaurs I’ve ever seen, and more importantly it’s got the eggs preserved in three dimensions. That’s very unusual for the age.”
Scientist Xiaolin Wang at the Chinese Academy of Science says the pterosaurs may have died in a storm 120 million years ago, based on the sediments found in the area. The fossil find comes from Turpan-Hami Basin in Xinjiang, China. “China has some of the best fossil sites in the world for fossils of this age, including the spectacular feathered dinosaurs and beautiful preservation of Early Cretaceous animals and plants,” says John. “It is a wonderful treasure trove, China. All sorts of interesting things are coming out of there. This is just another example of exquisite preservation that comes from that region.”
These particular pterosaurs are a new species, Hamipterus tianshanensis. Although 40 individuals have been identified, there might be up to a hundred preserved in the rocks. Finding fossils of so many individuals and eggs from different nests suggests these pterosaurs lived in large groups.
The researchers may have also found a difference in how male and female pterosaurs looked. All had crests on their heads, but they varied in size and shape. The scientists think males had larger and thicker crests, much like modern roosters sport a big red comb on their heads.
An ecological reconstruction of the new pterosaur species, and a photo of a three-dimensional fossil egg. Image: Ecological reconstruction by Chuang Zhao. Fossil egg by Maurilio Oliveira.
Quiz questions
What colour is the mineral malachite?
Which organ in the body is treated with medicine extracted from foxglove plants, also known as digitalis?
Which is the brightest planet, as viewed from Earth?
Does wintergreen oil smell a) minty, b) lemony, or c) floral?
Who’s closer to the centre of the Earth: a scientist at the North Pole, or one on a beach at the Equator?
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Mix baking soda, food colouring and citric acid together.
Mix in oil and check it sticks together when you squeeze it.
Press the mixture around a plastic dinosaur.
Leave to dry for ten hours.
Put the fizzy dino egg in water.
Watch it dissolve!
You will need
Small plastic dinosaurs
Bowl
Baking soda
Citric acid
Food colouring
Oil (we used olive oil)
Optional: scented oil or flavouring. We used vanilla essence. Just make sure you use oils that are safe for bodies, some oils are only meant for oil burners.
What to do
Put half a cup of baking soda and two drops of food colouring into a bowl. Mix the colouring into the baking soda using your fingertips.
Add two tablespoons of citric acid and mix well.
Add a teaspoon of oil and mix again. If you like, you can add few drops of scented oil or flavouring too.
Test the mixture. It should be dry, but stick together when you squish it. If it doesn’t stick together, add a bit more oil.
Put your plastic dinosaur in the bowl and squeeze the mixture around it into an egg shape.
Leave to dry for ten hours. It will become hard and solid.
Ready to hatch the egg? Put it in water and watch it fizz. It makes a great bath bomb too.
What’s happening?
Our dinosaur egg fizzes in water because of two chemicals in the mixture – baking soda (a base) and citric acid (an acid). In water, the acid and the base react together to release water, a salt and carbon dioxide gas. The fizzing is thanks to the carbon dioxide gas.
How similar are our fizzy dinosaur eggs to real fossil ones? Dinosaur eggs, like chicken eggs today, had pores to allow gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide to move between the egg and the air. Our fizzy dinosaur eggs also release carbon dioxide gas into the air. If your fizzy egg doesn’t look perfectly egg-shaped, don’t worry! Dinosaur eggs come in many different shapes, some are really round, and others like a torpedo.
Applications
Some dinosaur eggs contain a tiny fossilized dinosaur inside, though it is very rare to find them. Scientists can use X-ray scans to get an idea of what is inside the eggs.
To actually get the fossil bones out of a fossil egg, scientists can use an acid bath. A weak acid, such as acetic acid, the stuff in vinegar, is poured over the eggs. It can take a year to slowly dissolve the eggshell away and reveal the fossilized bones of the dinosaur. Lucky for us, our fizzy dinosaur eggs dissolve much faster!
Watch it! Feast your eyes on fabulous fossils with a Week in Science at the RiAus!
Quiz answers
Malachite is green.
Medicine from digitalis plants is used to treat heart conditions.
Venus is the brightest planet, as viewed from Earth.
Wintergreen oil smells minty.
The scientist at the North Pole is closest. The spinning Earth bulges at the middle, so a scientist at the equator is around 21 kilometres further from the centre of the Earth than one at the North Pole.
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