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< ><FONT size=4>Scientists in China have discovered a fossil thought to be more than 120 million-years-old containing an embryo of a flying reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs. </FONT></P>
$ z3 H5 g5 Y3 W6 Z# y# P, x! D< ><FONT size=4>It is the only known fossil of an embryo of a pterosaur, a winged lizard that evolved powered flight. </FONT></P>
; @4 O ^ ^+ X, M4 D: d! o2 S< ><FONT size=4>Wang Xiaolin and Zhou Zhonghe of the </FONT><a href="http://www.cas.ac.cn/" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#3300ff size=4>Chinese Academy of Sciences</FONT></A><FONT size=4> in </FONT><a href="http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/beijing.html" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#3300ff size=4>Beijing</FONT></A><FONT size=4> said that dinosaur embryos have been discovered all over the world, but so far no pterosaur embryos have been reported. </FONT></P>6 o! N. B1 t4 l
< ><FONT size=4>The embryo is preserved in an almost complete egg and was found in the sediment of a lake in </FONT><a href="http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/liaoning.html" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#3300ff size=4>Liaoning</FONT></A><FONT size=4> in northeastern China that is known for its fossil riches. </FONT></P>/ a1 j, P* O. V0 Z
< ><FONT size=4>The Chinese scientists said the Liaoning embryo has a wingspan of 10.6 inches, indicating that the embryo would have grown up into a medium-to-large pterosaur. </FONT></P>
' y) E! k2 r0 T6 h< ><FONT size=4>The earliest pterosaurs, the first known flying vertebrates, lived about 230 million years ago. They died out about 65 million years ago. </FONT></P>1 F U; S2 E8 E3 V1 A# C1 p
< ><EM><FONT size=4>Source: CRI news</FONT></EM></P></DIV>0 T( O! S% `1 I: ]) y% m, P
[此贴子已经被作者于2004-6-10 23:23:34编辑过] |