Fossil evidence suggests pterosaurs regurgitated indigestible food like modern-day birds

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-02-07 11:01

International

Efraimstochter on pixabay

The first fossil evidence has been uncovered that pterosaurs, winged reptiles which lived alongside dinosaurs, regurgitated indigestible food, according to international researchers. The team studied two fossils of the pterosaur, Kunpengopterus sinensis, found alongside fossilised gastric pellets in China. The pterosaurs probably vomited the pellets, containing the scales of an unnamed fish, in a similar way to modern-day birds.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Two emetolite-pterosaur associations from the Late Jurassic of China: showing the first evidence for antiperistalsis in pterosaurs

The first fossil evidence has been uncovered that pterosaurs, winged reptiles which lived alongside dinosaurs, regurgitated indigestible food. Researchers studied two fossils of the pterosaur, Kunpengopterus sinensis, alongside fossilised gastric pellets. The pterosaurs probably vomited the pellets, containing the scales of an unnamed fish, in a similar way to modern-day birds, indicating the presence of two-part stomachs and efficient antiperistalsis, the authors said.

Multimedia

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Journal/
conference: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Funder: This study was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant nos. XDB26000000, XDB18000000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 42072028, 42072017, 41602011 and 41688103) and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2019075). Xiaoli Wang thanks the Taishan Scholar Program, X.C. acknowledges funding from the Fundacão Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (FUNCAP no DCR-0024-02039.01.00/), and A.W.A.K thanks the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ # E-26/202.905/2018) and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq # 313461/2018-0) for funding.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.