New pterosaur from the Cretaceous of China

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

A new pterosaur, Luchibang xingzhe, is reported from the Early Cretaceous of China  It's represented by an excellently-preserved, nearly complete juvenile skeleton. There are even patches of soft tissue! This specimen gives more insight into the anatomy and ecology of Istiodactylidae, an Early Cretaceous pterosaur family known from China and England.

 

 

Here's the paper describing the specimen (full text, no paywall): https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2020/2931-a-new-istiodactylid-pterosaur

 

And here's a post written by one of the authors (Dave Hone), describing all the twists and turns they went through to get the research published: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2020/03/10/ten-years-in-the-making-of-luchibang/

Edited March 10, 2020 by The Amateur Paleontologist