Overview

• The Skiphosoura bavarica fossil, found in Germany, is remarkably well-preserved in three dimensions, unlike typical flattened pterosaur fossils.
• Skiphosoura bridges a key evolutionary gap, showing features between early darwinopterans and later pterodactyloids.
• The new fossil reveals changes in wing bone ratios and tail structure that may have enabled the evolution of giant wingspans.
• Skiphosoura's features suggest it might have adapted to forest environments, differing from many coastal pterosaurs.
• Researchers have reconstructed a more complete evolutionary sequence, connecting early pterosaurs to the massive pterodactyloids.