Pterosaurs may have evolved from tiny, fast-running reptiles
Fossils found in Scotland in 1907 are illuminating the origin of the first flying vertebrates
A mysterious ground-dwelling reptile unearthed in a Scottish sandstone over 100 years ago turns out to be part of a famous flying family. Tiny Scleromochlus taylori was a close relative of pterosaurs, the winged reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs, researchers report online October 5 in Nature.
The finding lends support to the idea that pterosaurs — the first vertebrates to master powered flight — evolved from small, two-legged, speedy ancestors.
The study also offers an answer to a long-standing mystery: What, exactly, was S. taylori? “It all boils down to the preservation of this animal,” says Davide Foffa, a paleontologist at National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh.