[news]Chinese scientists find 1st fossil embryo

lckboy

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) c& p) T0 h2 z* n2 w; e7 q<><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>
7 E9 W9 g1 L1 f% L" |* t6 ^7 b8 J3 w- H<><FONT size=4>It is the only known fossil of an embryo of a pterosaur, a winged lizard that evolved powered flight. </FONT></P>
% b$ a, j3 U5 h- q+ S* I<><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>
4 g7 e6 P0 B; G: D8 k( _<><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>
. |0 J. M1 T# Q2 T! L<><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>
+ H" z- U% m' i+ e) f2 s8 v* ]<><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>
<><EM><FONT size=4>Source: CRI news</FONT></EM></P></DIV>

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-6-10 23:23:34编辑过]