Overview
- University of Leicester scientists led by Robert Smyth report a hypothesis in Current Biology that two Pterodactylus hatchlings died during a tropical storm about 150 million years ago.
- The specimens, nicknamed Lucky and Lucky II, show identical upper‑arm breaks consistent with strong rotational forces attributed to powerful wind gusts.
- The team proposes the injured chicks fell into a Jurassic lagoon and drowned, after which storm‑stirred calcareous mud rapidly entombed their bodies and preserved them.
- Solnhofen’s famed limestone has yielded hundreds of exceptionally preserved pterosaurs that are mostly tiny juveniles, while adults are rare or fragmentary.
- The study suggests repeated storms likely swept small, island‑dwelling pterosaurs into the lagoon, challenging the long‑held view of a community dominated by small adults and inviting further testing.