Palaentologists have uncovered the best preserved cluster of three dimensional fossils ever discovered.
Located in the Xinjiang Uygur Region, the eggs belong to a new genus of pterosaur called Hamipterus tianshanensis and date back 120 million years to a time when these giant winged reptiles would have ruled the prehistoric skies.
The find is particularly significant because the eggs have been found in a three-dimensional state as oppose to two-dimensional like most fossils.
“This is definitely the most important pterosaur site ever found,” said paleontologist Zhonghe Zhou. “Five eggs are three-dimensionally preserved, and some are really complete.”
The site is thought to have been a pterosaur colony that was wiped out by a particularly violent storm. At least 40 individuals have been identified however it is believed that there would have been several hundred living there at its peak.
