Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Palaeontology

Pterosaur egg with a leathery shell

Abstract

The recent discovery of a pterosaur egg with embryonic skeleton and soft tissues from the Yixian Formation confirmed that the flying pterosaurs were oviparous1. Here we describe another pterosaur egg whose exquisite preservation indicates that the shell structure was soft and leathery.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Early Cretaceous pterosaur egg and embryo (JZMP-03-03-2) from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wang, X. -L. & Zhou, Z. -H. Nature 429, 621 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ji, Q. et al. Mesozoic Jehol Biota of Western Liaoning, China (Geol. Publ. Hse, Beijing, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Wellnhofer, P. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs (Salamander, London, 1991).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Unwin, D. M. in Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs (eds Buffetaut, E. & Mazin, J. M.) 139–190 (Geol. Soc. Sp. Publ. 217, 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Lü, J. -C. Mem. Fukui Prefect. Dinosaur Mus. 2, 153–160 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bennett, S. C. J. Vert. Paleontol. 16, 432–444 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zelenitsky, D. K., Modesto, S. P. & Currie, P. J. Cretaceous Res. 23, 297–305 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zhao, Z. K. Vert. PalAsiat. 16, 213–221 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Carpenter, K. Eggs, Nests, and Baby Dinosaurs — A Look at Dinosaur Reproduction (Indiana Univ. Press, Bloomington, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qiang Ji.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ji, Q., Ji, SA., Cheng, YN. et al. Pterosaur egg with a leathery shell. Nature 432, 572 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/432572a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/432572a

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing