The photo above shows the partially excavated fossil skeleton of a newly discovered species of diplodocoid dinosaur in the Lingwu region of China. Dubbed Lingwulong shenqi (the Lingwu amazing dragon), the fossils are around 174 million years old.

The finds provide evidence that diplodocoid dinosaurs were distributed across the supercontinent Pangaea, according to a paper published in Nature Communications.

Sauropods were long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs and among the longest and largest land animals to have lived. It has been thought that advanced sauropods, the neosauropods, diversified during the breakup of Pangaea and had not reached East Asia before it became isolated.

Evolutionary and biogeographic analyses including the new species now suggest that neosauropods were already diverse and widespread in the Middle Jurassic (about 174 to 163 million years ago), rather than rapidly becoming dominant at the transition to the Late Jurassic (163 to 145 million years ago) as previously thought. Furthermore, major sauropod groups may have originated in the Early Jurassic. </s> Scientists have discovered a new species of 200-million-year-old pterosaur from the Patagonia region of South America.

Remarkably, the brain case of the flying reptile was well preserved, offering scientists a new look at the pterosaur's brain anatomy.

The researchers have named this new species 'Allkauren koi' from the native Tehuelche word 'all' for 'brain', and 'karuen' for 'ancient'.

Pterosaurs are an extinct group of flying reptiles that lived during most of the Mesozoic Era.

This group had an extraordinary adaptation to flight, including pneumatic bones to lighten its weight, and an elongated digit supporting the wings.

But the pterosaur skull is known from only a few three dimensionally preserved remains and, until now, there was no information on the intermediate forms.

This study provides new information on the origin and type of evolution in this particular group of flying reptiles.

The braincase found in this study was only a few dozen millimeters long, suggesting that it was from a small pterosaur species, the researchers said.

The fossil of Allkaruen koi was found in northern central Chubut Province, Patagonia Argentina.

In order to study the skull anatomy, researchers used computed tomography to observe, in three dimensions, the cranial endocast and the inner ear.

'Allkaruen, from the middle lower Jurassic limit, shows an intermediate state in the brain evolution of pterosaurs and their adaptations to the aerial environment', said Dr Diego Pol, who is part of the research team.

'As a result, this research makes an important contribution to the understanding of the evolution of all of pterosaurs.' </s> Image copyright Yuan Zhang/Nature Ecology & Evolution Image caption What pterosaurs might have looked like

Two exceptionally well preserved fossils give a new picture of the pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that lived at the time of the dinosaurs.

Scientists believe the creatures may have had feathers, and looked something like brown bats with fuzzy wings.

The surprise discovery suggests feathers evolved not in birds, nor dinosaurs, but in more distant times.

Pterosaurs were the closest relatives of dinosaurs, sharing a common ancestor about 250 million years ago.

"We would suggest - tentatively - that it would be worth considering that feathers originated much earlier than we thought," Prof Mike Benton, from the University of Bristol, told BBC News.

Hailing from China, the 160-million-year-old fossils are of two different pterosaurs, one of which is newly discovered.

Strange feathery creatures

In depth analysis shows that as well as fur - which has been suggested before - the flying reptiles had feathers like some dinosaurs, including the theropods.

"If I just saw these fluffy bits on their own, I would swear they were from a theropod dinosaur," said Dr Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh, who was not part of the study.

"This means feathers were not a bird innovation, not even a dinosaur innovation, but evolved first in a much more distant ancestor.

"The age of dinosaurs was full of all sorts of strange feathery creatures!"

Image copyright Baoyu Jiang, Michael Benton et al./Nature Ecology Image caption Are these feathers?

The researchers found that the pterosaurs had four different kinds of covering, including fuzzy, fur over most of their body; and, on parts of the head and wings, three types of fibres similar to modern feathers.

The fluff and feathers are likely to have been important in heat regulation and aerodynamics.

"These structures on the pterosaur make it look a bit like a fruit bat, or something like that, a fuzzy hairy creature," said Prof Benton, who worked on the discovery with colleagues in China.

"They fly with great out-stretched bony wings that carry a substantial membrane, a bit like a bat."

Flight in the Jurassic skies

Questions still remain over whether these are true feathers. If they are, it would suggest that feathers appeared millions of years earlier than previously thought.

Alternatively, feathers could have evolved twice during the course of evolution.

Insects were the first group to achieve the ability to fly: they developed wings at least 320 million years ago.

Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates - animals with a backbone - to evolve powered flight, about 230 million years ago.

The research is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Follow Helen on Twitter. </s> A tiny pterosaur from the age of flying giants is causing a flap among scientists. 

 The rare reptile, with a wingspan of "only" 1.5 metres (4.9ft), would have been dwarfed by its cousins from the Late Cretaceous era 77 million years ago. 

 Some of them were much larger, with wingspans of up to 11 metres (36 feet), making them the size of a small plane. 

 But what the new specimen, thought to belong to the azhdarchoid pterosaur family, lacks in size it makes up for in terms of scientific importance. 

 Before the discovery in Canada, researchers thought small pterosaurs had been unable to compete with early birds in the Late Cretaceous.

First dodo skeleton in 100 years to be sold at auction 354 years after bird went extinct



 Lead scientist Elizabeth Martin-Silverstone, from the University of Southampton, said: "This new pterosaur is exciting because it suggests that small pterosaurs were present all the way until the end of the Cretaceous, and weren't out-competed by birds. 

 "The hollow bones of pterosaurs are notoriously poorly preserved, and larger animals seem to be preferentially preserved in similarly aged Late Cretaceous ecosystems of North America. This suggests that a small pterosaur would very rarely be preserved, but not necessarily that they didn't exist."



 Fossil fragments from the pterosaur were found on Hornby Island, British Columbia, in 2009. A detailed study of the fossils has only now been published in the Royal Society journal Open Science. 

 Pterosaurs - which were not flying dinosaurs - were the earliest vertebrates to develop powered flight, pre-dating birds by millions of years. 

 For some 140 million years they ruled the skies. Eventually they were replaced by birds, which evolved from bird-like dinosaurs. 

 Azhdarchoid pterosaurs were a group of short-winged flying reptiles that shared similarities with birds, including a toothless "beak".

Co-author Dr Mark Witton, a pterosaur expert from the University of Portsmouth, said: "The specimen is far from the prettiest or most complete pterosaur fossil you'll ever see, but it's still an exciting and significant find. 

 "It's rare to find pterosaur fossils at all because their skeletons were lightweight and easily damaged once they died, and the small ones are the rarest of all. But luck was on our side and several bones of this animal survived the preservation process.

Giant 4 foot long Tyrannosaurus Rex skull unearthed by museum is 66 million years old



 "Happily, enough of the specimen was recovered to determine the approximate age of the pterosaur at the time of its death. By examining its internal bone structure and the fusion of its vertebrae we could see that, despite its small size, the animal was almost fully grown. 

 "The specimen thus seems to be a genuinely small species, and not just a baby or juvenile of a larger pterosaur type." </s> The study, published in the journal PeerJ, provides new information on the origin, tempo and mode of evolution in this particular group of flying reptiles.

Scientists have discovered a new species of pterosaur - an extinct group of flying reptiles - from the early Jurassic period in the Patagonia region of South America.

The cranial remains were in an excellent state of preservation, said the researchers who have named this new species ‘Allkauren koi’ from the native Tehuelche word ‘all’ for ‘brain’, and ‘karuen’ for ‘ancient’

Pterosaurs had an extraordinary adaptation to flight, including pneumatic bones to lighten their weight, and an elongated digit supporting a wing membrane.

However, pterosaur neuroanatomy is known from only a few three dimensionally preserved remains and, until now, there was no information on the intermediate forms.

This study, published in the journal PeerJ, therefore provides new information on the origin, tempo and mode of evolution in this particular group of flying reptiles.

“Allkaruen, from the middle lower Jurassic limit, shows an intermediate state in the brain evolution of pterosaurs and their adaptations to the aerial environment,” said one of the researchers Diego Pol from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio in Trelew city, Argentina.

“As a result, this research makes an important contribution to the understanding of the evolution of all pterosaurs,” Pol noted.

The fossil of Allkaruen koi was found in northern central Chubut Province in Argentina and the remains included a superbly preserved and uncrushed braincase.

In order to study the neurocranial anatomy, the researchers used computed tomography to observe, in three dimensions, the cranial endocast and the inner ear.

Subsequently, a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the group was performed, including these cranial data and other anatomical features. </s> Giant long-necked dinosaurs were roaming the supercontinent of Pangaea up to 29 million years earlier than previously thought, a new study suggests.

Fossils of a newly discovered species, dubbed the 'amazing dragon of Lingwu', prove advanced diplodocoids were alive during the early Middle Jurassic of China - 174 million years ago.

Researchers previously believed that advanced diplodocoids, known as neosauropods, did not appear until after the break up of Pangaea, the giant land mass from which modern continents formed.

Sauropods were long-necked, herbivorous dinosaurs and among the longest and largest land animals to have lived.

They were the first successful group of herbivorous dinosaurs, dominating land based ecosystems for more than 140 million years from the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous.

They stretched to 130 feet (40 metres) and weighed up to 80 tonnes (80,000kg / 88 tons) - 14 times the weight of an African elephant.

It has been thought that advanced sauropods, the neosauropods, diversified during the breakup of Pangaea and had not reached East Asia before it became isolated.

However, research led by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing has changed our understanding of these ancient creatures.

Researchers excavated several partial skeletons of a new previously unknown species of diplodocoid dinosaur.

They found them in the Lingwu region of China, hence the name 'Lingwulong shenqi' which literally translates to the Lingwu amazing dragon.

The fossils date from around 174 million years ago, making this species the earliest known neosauropod and the first from East Asia.

As a result of this find, researchers found neosauropods were already diverse and widespread in the Middle Jurassic, about 174 to 163 million years ago.

It was previously thought they become dominant at the transition to the Late Jurassic 163 to 145 million years ago.

The findings were based on material from multiple individuals and most parts of the skeleton of an early Middle Jurassic dicraeosaurid.

'The new discovery challenges conventional biogeographical ideas, and suggests that dispersal into East Asia occurred much earlier than expected', researchers wrote in their paper published in Nature Communications.

'Moreover, the age of this new taxon indicates that many advanced sauropod lineages originated at least 15 million years earlier than previously realised, achieving a global distribution while Pangaea was still a coherent landmass'.

Researchers also believe major sauropod groups may have originated in the Early Jurassic. </s> The incredible discovery which is sure to be one of the most important paleontological finds ever, is a world first and now scientists have a once in a lifetime opportunity to study a piece of dinosaur which has travelled millions of years through time intact.

It is believed the tail belonged to a flightless dinosaur that lived approximately 99 million years ago in the mid-Cretaceous period.

The specimen was found in north eastern Myanmar, in an amber mine. It is believed the tail belongs to a juvenile coelurosaur, which is a type of therapod.

“This is the first time we’ve found dinosaur material preserved in amber,” said study co-author Ryan McKellar of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada. “We can be sure of the source because the vertebrae are not fused into a rod or pygostyle as in modern birds and their closest relatives.”

8 vertebrae are perfectly preserved in the amber, with many small delicate feathers, coloured brown on top and white underneath.

“It’s amazing to see all the details of a dinosaur tail – the bones, flesh, skin, and feathers – and to imagine how this little fellow got his tail caught in the resin, and then presumably died because he could not wrestle free,” said study co-author Prof Mike Benton from the University of Bristol. </s> A TINY pterosaur from the age of flying giants is causing a flap among Portsmouth experts.

The rare reptile, with a wingspan of 1.5 metres, would have been dwarfed by its cousins from the Late Cretaceous era 77 million years ago.

Some of them were much larger, with wingspans of up to 11 metres (36 feet), making them the size of a small plane.

But what the new specimen, thought to belong to the azhdarchoid pterosaur family, lacks in size it makes up for in terms of scientific importance.

Fossil fragments from the pterosaur were found on Hornby Island, British Columbia, in 2009. A detailed study of the fossils has only now been published in the Royal Society journal Open Science.

Pterosaurs – which were not flying dinosaurs – were the earliest vertebrates to develop powered flight, pre-dating birds by millions of years.

Co-author Dr Mark Witton, a pterosaur expert from the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘The specimen is far from the prettiest or most complete pterosaur fossil you’ll ever see, but it’s still an exciting and significant find.

‘It’s rare to find pterosaur fossils at all because their skeletons were lightweight and easily damaged once they died, and the small ones are the rarest of all. But luck was on our side and several bones of this animal survived the preservation process.

‘Happily, enough of the specimen was recovered to determine the approximate age of the pterosaur at the time of its death. By examining its internal bone structure and the fusion of its vertebrae we could see that, despite its small size, the animal was almost fully grown.

‘The specimen thus seems to be a genuinely small species, and not just a baby or juvenile of a larger pterosaur type.’ </s> A tiny pterosaur from the age of flying giants is causing a flap among scientists.

The rare reptile, with a wingspan of 'only' 1.5 metres (4.9ft), would have been dwarfed by its cousins from the Late Cretaceous era 77 million years ago.

Some of them were much larger, with wingspans of up to 11 metres (36 feet), making them the size of a small plane.

These new specimen had a wingspan of only 5ft (1.5 metres). Pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period were much bigger with wingspans of between four and 11 metres. The fossils of the creature belonged to an azhdarchoid pterosaur. This is a group of short-winged and toothless flying reptiles which dominated the final phase of pterosaur evolution. Previous studies suggest that the Late Cretaceous skies were only occupied by much larger pterosaur species and birds.

But what the new specimen, thought to belong to the azhdarchoid pterosaur family, lacks in size it makes up for in terms of scientific importance.

Before the discovery in Canada, researchers thought small pterosaurs had been unable to compete with early birds in the Late Cretaceous.

Lead scientist Elizabeth Martin-Silverstone, from the University of Southampton, said: 'This new pterosaur is exciting because it suggests that small pterosaurs were present all the way until the end of the Cretaceous, and weren't out-competed by birds.

'The hollow bones of pterosaurs are notoriously poorly preserved, and larger animals seem to be preferentially preserved in similarly aged Late Cretaceous ecosystems of North America.

'This suggests that a small pterosaur would very rarely be preserved, but not necessarily that they didn't exist.'

Fossil fragments from the pterosaur were found on Hornby Island, British Columbia, in 2009.

A detailed study of the fossils has only now been published in the Royal Society journal Open Science.

Pterosaurs - which were not flying dinosaurs - were the earliest vertebrates to develop powered flight, pre-dating birds by millions of years.

For some 140 million years they ruled the skies. Eventually they were replaced by birds, which evolved from bird-like dinosaurs.

Azhdarchoid pterosaurs were a group of short-winged flying reptiles that shared similarities with birds, including a toothless 'beak'.

Co-author Dr Mark Witton, a pterosaur expert from the University of Portsmouth, said: 'The specimen is far from the prettiest or most complete pterosaur fossil you'll ever see, but it's still an exciting and significant find.

'It's rare to find pterosaur fossils at all because their skeletons were lightweight and easily damaged once they died, and the small ones are the rarest of all.

'But luck was on our side and several bones of this animal survived the preservation process.

'Happily, enough of the specimen was recovered to determine the approximate age of the pterosaur at the time of its death.

'By examining its internal bone structure and the fusion of its vertebrae we could see that, despite its small size, the animal was almost fully grown.

'The specimen thus seems to be a genuinely small species, and not just a baby or juvenile of a larger pterosaur type.'
160 million-year-old fossil anurognathid pterosaurs are discovered that show feathery coverings, suggesting either deep common ancestry with theropod dinosaurs or independent coevolution.