London –
The secret of the evolution of the 230-million-year-old fossil that is said to be the ancestor of the winged pterosaur dinosaurs has finally been revealed, after a century of “locked in a block of stone”.
The researchers used X-ray scans to examine the fossil, which was discovered a century ago in Scotland.
Their research led to a thorough reconstruction of the species’ skeleton Scleromoclo.
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This tiny reptile, scientists say, is the ancestor of the winged dinosaur pterosaurs, also known as pterodactyls.
“We didn’t realize how much we missed it until we performed this scan,” said lead researcher, Dr Davide Foffa of the National Museum of Scotland.
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Scleromoclo is part of a collection of fossils known as Elgin’s reptiles, a collection of fossils from the Triassic period found in the 1990s in Lossiemouth, near Elgin, Moray.
The creature dates back to a time when Scotland was primarily a desert on the supercontinent Pangea.
The Triassic period is the earliest period of the Mesozoic era, which began at 252 million years ago and ended at 201 million years ago.
Dr Foofa and his colleagues worked closely with the Natural History Museum in London, which houses an extensive Elgin collection, to scan and study the seven specimens. Scleromoclo which is fragile and stuck in the sandstone.
Until recently, it was difficult to find in-depth information on the fossil. But their existence is interesting to paleontologists because they date back to a point in the era when fossil records were scarce about 10 million years before the first pterosaur fossils.
“The first pterosaur [yang dimiliki] in the fossil record they already have wings so that they can adapt to flight, so it is very difficult to understand from where [sayap] it comes from, “explains Dr. Fofa.
This agile little reptile can run on two legs (Gabriel Ugueto)
And now, the fine anatomical details revealed by X-ray scans, including the shape of the maxilla and upper femur, allow scientists to positionScleromoclo correctly on the pterosaur family tree.
This also reveals that flying reptiles evolved from their ancestors, earth dwellers who likely walked on two legs.
“It’s great to be the first to see these details,” said Dr. Foffa.
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“These animals now provide a lot of information about the appearance of the first pterosaurs.”
Pterosaurs, more commonly called pterodactyls, were the first bony animals that could fly, more than 200 million years ago, long before birds and bats conquered the skies.
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Professor Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh, also involved in the study, described them as “unique” with wings attached to a long, thin finger.
“It has long been a mystery as to what kind of animals they evolved and how they flew through the air,” he told BBC News.
“By identifying Scleromoclo as close cousins of pterosaurs, we can now reveal that pterosaurs evolved from agile little animals, which ran on their fingers like dancers, who were small enough to hold one in their hand. “
This discovery published in the journal Nature.
(nvc / nvc)
