Pterosaurs were social animals

Around one hundred years ago, paleontologists believed the pterosaurs - a group of flying reptiles unrelated to the dinosaurs - were rogues.The thought was they only gathered during the mating seasons, or where food was highly plentiful. A new find is challenging that idea and pointing in a highly unexpected direction.

A tragedy that claimed the lives of hundreds of pterosaurs 120 million years ago is now providing a slice of prehistoric life, revealing that these dinosaur-era flying reptiles were extremely social creatures.

Discovery of the disaster site, described in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology, includes the first known 3-D pterosaur eggs, thousands of fossilized pterosaur bones, and nearly fully intact pterosaur skulls of both males and females. The remains represent a new pterosaur genus and species: the formidable-looking Hamipterus tianshanensis.

 Sediments at the site strongly suggest that a huge colony of these large flying reptiles bit the dust during a violent storm.

"Based on the discoveries, we know that this pterosaur lived together with other pterosaurs and laid its eggs in the bank of the ancient lake, similar Behavior to that of some modern birds, such as flamingos," lead author Xiaolin Wang told Discovery News.

Wang, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, added that male and female pterosaurs looked very different from each other in terms of size, shape and heftiness, with males of this particular species sporting an elaborate crest that they might have used to woo potential mates.

Whether social living in other pterosaurs was as prevelant as in this small species is unknown, but this find does point to communal living in these strange yet marvelous creatures.