A tiny ornithodiran archosaur from the Triassic of Madagascar and the role of miniaturization in dinosaur and pterosaur ancestry
Abstract
Reptiles of the Mesozoic Era are known for their remarkable size: dinosaurs include the largest known land animals, and their relatives, the pterosaurs, include the largest creatures to ever fly. The origins of these groups are poorly understood, however. Here, we present a species (Kongonaphon kely) from the Triassic of Madagascar close to the ancestry of dinosaurs and pterosaurs, providing insight into the early evolution of those groups. Kongonaphon is a surprisingly small animal (estimated height, ∼10 cm). Analysis of ancestral body size indicates that there was a pronounced miniaturization event near the common ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Tiny ancestral body size may help explain the origins of flight in pterosaurs and fuzzy integument in both groups.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- July 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1916631117
- Bibcode:
- 2020PNAS..11717932K