Flightless ancestor shows brain evolution in #pterosaurs and #birds took different paths https://phys.org/news/2025-11-flightless-ancestor-brain-evolution-pterosaurs.html

Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and non-avian paravians in the evolution of flight https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01467-8

"#lagerpetids were probably tree-dwellers, and their brains already show features linked to improved vision, an adaptation that may have later helped their #pterosaur relatives take to the skies, but they still lacked key neurological traits of pterosaurs"

From last year, I missed this one - clue to pterosaur origins found in fossil of strange flightless ‘rabbit reptile' - the Venetoraptor gassenae, a Triassic lagerpetid https://archive.is/Ohjji

#history #science #pterosaurs #fossils #paleontology #Triassic #lagerpetids

#Fossil study brings us one step closer to revealing how pterosaurs took flight https://theconversation.com/fossil-study-brings-us-one-step-closer-to-revealing-how-flying-dinosaurs-took-flight-196086

Scleromochlus and the early #evolution of #Pterosauromorpha https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05284-x

#Schleromochlus was either the earliest member of the #lagerpetids or a close relative of the #pterosaurs – even closer than other lagerpetids. Either way, this places Schleromochlus closer to the origin of pterosaurs than other lagerpetids. It also shared skull features with later pterosaurs.

Fossil study brings us one step closer to revealing how ‘flying dinosaurs’ took flight

https://theconversation.com/fossil-study-brings-us-one-step-closer-to-revealing-how-flying-dinosaurs-took-flight-196086

#pterosaurs #lagerpetids #Mesozoic

The Ancestors of Flying Pterosaurs Were Sleek Reptiles That Ran on the Ground https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-ancestors-of-flying-pterosaurs-were-sleek-reptiles-that-ran-on-the-ground-180980898/ by Riley Black

Paper: Scleromochlus and the early evolution of Pterosauromorpha https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05284-x

"Common ancestors of #pterosaurs and #lagerpetids were likely small-bodied terrestrial animals, which stood on their toes, and were good runners."