A note on pterosaur nesting behavior

2007/09/21 by Gerald Grellet‐Tinner, Stephen Wroe, Michael B. Thompson +1 · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Turtle Biology and Conservation #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Avian ecology and behavior

paper · doi:10.1080/08912960701189800

openalex publication_date 2007/09/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

Based on examination of eggshell structure and predicted vapor conductances in eggshells in recently described material from Argentina and China we conclude that pterosaurs buried their eggs. Egg-burying imposes theoretical restrictions on the distribution of pterosaurs, both geographically and spatially, raises the possibility of thermal sex determination and supports previous suggestions that they exhibited nesting fidelity. Some features associated with egg-burying, such as weight savings, are likely to have been fortuitous pre-adaptations for these flying reptiles, but others may have disadvantaged them relative to avian competitors or increased their vulnerability to extinction in a cooling climate.

Citations

• Pterosaur embryo from the Early Cretaceous
• Eggs of titanosaurid sauropods from the Upper Cretaceous of Auca Mahuevo (Argentina)
• Neuroanatomy of flying reptiles and implications for flight, posture and behaviour
• Nest Structure for Sauropods: Sedimentary Criteria for Recognition of Dinosaur Nesting Traces
• The Effect of Shape on the Surface-Volume Relationships of Birds' Eggs
• The Avian Egg: Water Vapor Conductance, Shell Thickness, and Functional Pore Area

Cited by

• Eggshell and Histology Provide Insight on the Life History of a Pterosaur with Two Functional Ovaries
• Pterosaur [wikipedia]