Paleontologists in China have discovered the fossil skeleton of Sinomacrops bondei, a new species of pterosaur. Scientists, mostly from China and Japan, found the fossil skeleton of the ruined creature in a rock preserved in China’s Hubei Province and realized that it was a new species of pterosaur.
The name Sinomacrops bondei is taken from the Greek word for Chinese which is Sino, combined with the words for large, macro, and eyes.
The researchers chose Bondei in honor of paleontologist Niels Bonde, for his many scholarly contributions and for being an inspiration to us.
Using x-ray imaging, the team was able to reconstruct the long-extinct pterosaur and illustrations were made to show how it looks like.
“Despite being crushed to the point of obliterating many details, the specimen is rather complete and provides new information for the group,” wrote the researchers on their reports.
The illustration made depicts the creature that looks like a flying squirrel but instead of a rodent’s body, its shaft looks more like a salamander with large membrane wings protruding from each side. This new species also has gaping eyes, a wide smile, and a small tail between a pair of legs.
Sinomacrops bondei are also likely to be hairy but not with hair or feathers. Scientists argue that it is covered by tufted ‘pycnofibers’, a completely different shape of the cover and evolving independently.
A paleontologist from Baylor University in Texas, Megan Jacobs who was not involved with the research, said the findings are interesting because pterosaur fossils are so rare because their thin, hollow bones cannot be preserved like other creatures.
“It’s very round with large, forward-facing eyes. Most pterosaurs of this period have elongated snouts full of little teeth.
“Finding these early pterosaurs really gives us an insight into how they started to adapt and alter aspects of their skeletons,” said Jacobs.
Source: 9Gag, New York Post