Multimedia Gallery
Oldest pterodactyloid species discovered and named (Image 2)
The preserved bones of Kryptodrakon progenitor (shown here in different views), discovered in northwest China, has yielded new discoveries on the origin of the pterodactyloids, a group of flying reptiles that would go on to become the largest known flying creatures to have ever existed. [Scale bar is 50 mm]
Scientific analysis by an international team of researchers determined K. progenitor was the first pterosaur to display the characteristics of the Pterodactyloidea, which would become the dominant winged creatures of the prehistoric world.
The researchers also determined that K. progenitor lived around the time of the Middle to Upper Jurassic boundary. By studying the fossil fragments, researchers also determined that the pterodactyloids originated, lived and evolved in terrestrial rather than marine environments where other specimens have been found.
"This finding represents the earliest and most primitive pterodactyloid pterosaur, a flying reptile in a highly specialized group that includes the largest flying organisms," says Chris Liu, a program director in the National Science Foundations Division of Earth Sciences. "The research has extended the fossil record of pterodactyloids by at least five million years to the Middle-Upper Jurassic boundary about 163 million years ago."
The fieldwork that collected the fossil was funded by the National Geographic Society. Later fieldwork and study of the fossil was supported by the National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences (grant EAR 09-22187).
To learn more, see the USF news story International scientific team discovers, names oldest pterodactyloid species
(Date of Image: April 2014) [Image 2 of 3 related images. See Image 3.]
Credit: Illustration by Brian Andres
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
Also Available:
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (3.4 MB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.