ABOVE: 3-D reconstruction of Ambopteryx longibrachium
MIN WANG/INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Scientists report in Nature the discovery of a fossil of a theropod, a type of dinosaur that has hollow bones and three-toed limbs. Ambopteryx longibrachium had bat-like wings and lived 163 million years ago in China. The authors write that this fossil is the first evidence of membranous wings in a theropod.

M. Wang et al., “A new Jurassic scansoriopterygid and the loss of membranous wings in theropod dinosaurs,” Nature, doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1137-z, 2019.

In China, scientists uncover the fossil of a membranous-winged dinosaur, Ambopteryx longibrachium, that is 163 million years old.
MIN WANG/INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
3-D reconstruction of Ambopteryx longibrachium shown from above
MIN WANG/INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


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