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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>3 c3 L- U; b& j/ L& |" u* Q" |
< ><FONT size=4>It is the only known fossil of an embryo of a pterosaur, a winged lizard that evolved powered flight. </FONT></P>
- \( L) y) U4 N8 C5 L. t& e" Z9 O< ><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>% L6 u/ a! |" z- P( m2 s6 m
< ><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>" f7 c/ T) M6 f3 l3 P5 E
< ><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>! u5 F3 T' t7 e3 y
< ><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>% R J! m. h* Y% P
< ><EM><FONT size=4>Source: CRI news</FONT></EM></P></DIV>
0 K+ ^5 c! t( F- A[此贴子已经被作者于2004-6-10 23:23:34编辑过] |