Tree-Climbing Reptiles Shed Light on Pterosaur Evolution

The lagerpetids seem to fit the pterosaur-ancestor profile…

A speculative skeletal diagram of the lagerpetid Ixalerpeton polesinensis, restored in a quadrupedal stance / Maurissauro / Wikimedia Commons.

Pterosaurs, the iconic winged reptiles of the Mesozoic Era were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight. They were also the largest with some species achieving wingspans of over 10–11 meters (33–36 feet). Despite pterosaurs becoming globally widespread during the Mesozoic, little is known about their evolutionary origins.

Part of the problem is that these animals as well as their ancestors were very delicate. Skeletal adaptations that were important for flight — such as ultralight hollow bones — made pterosaurs and their precursors especially vulnerable to the forces involved in fossilization. Therefore, it’s no wonder paleontologists have trouble finding ancestral forms of these incredible reptiles.

Zhejiangopterus linhaiensis, an azhdarchid pterosaur by John Conway / Wikimedia Commons.

A new study led by Martín Ezcurra, a paleontologist at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Argentine Museum and the University of Birmingham, provides new insights into the evolution of these remarkable creatures. Ezcurra and his team suggested that a group of small, tree-climbing reptiles, named lagerpetids, could…