A team of scientists has discovered in the Tiaojishan Formation in China’s Hebei province, a new genus and species of a rare family of pterosaurs known as anurognathidae . The creature was warm-blooded and covered in hair-like filaments called pycnofibers.
Named Sinomacrops bondei, the tiny flying reptile is the third species of anurognathid to be described from Jurassic-age rocks found in China. This newly described pterosaur looks cuter than you might expect, which is why many have found it resembling the Porgs from Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
According to paleontologists’ examination, the creature would have had round eyes and a short, stubby chin. They existed during the Mesozoic Era, from 228 to 66 million years ago. Unlike modern reptiles, anurognathids are believed to be warm-blooded . This is the first anurognathid found with its entire skull exposed in lateral view. Although the skeleton was heavily flattened, there were patches of soft tissue, and the researchers were also able to gain insight into the shape of the jaw, which helped put it on the evolutionary tree.
This rare finding shows that there is greater morphological diversity even within anurognathids than experts assumed.
“Some previous interpretations of anurognathid morphology and systematics have been based on limited information available, the authors explain. With time and the discovery of new specimens, new data has been provided and new interpretations have been presented. For this reason, each new specimen is crucial to the understanding of the group . “
The remains of S. bondei are in the Jinzhou Museum of Paleontology in west-central China.
Referencia: Wei X, Pêgas RV, Shen C, Guo Y, Ma W, Sun D, Zhou X. 2021. Sinomacrops bondei, a new anurognathid pterosaur from the Jurassic of China and comments on the group. PeerJ 9:e11161 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11161
