What parts of the world harbor large collections of pterosaurs fossils?
One of the most famous localities where abundant, well-preserved remains of pterosaurs have been recovered is the previously mentioned Solnhofen Limestone. It has not only yielded numerous pterosaur remains, some with impressions of the soft parts outlining the body of the animal, but also specimens of the famous first bird, Archaeopteryx. The Karabastau Formation in Karatau, Kazakhstan is where beautifully preserved specimens of the hairy pterosaur Sordes pilosus and the “thecodont” Sharovipteryx were recovered. The preservation here is exceptional, with soft parts often included. David Unwin and Natasha Bakhurina of the Russian Academy of Sciences (currently at Bristol) continue to study this veritable trove of insects, plants, turtles, crocodiles, and pterosaurs. The Late Cretaeous Niobrara Chalk in Kansas has yielded fossils of the huge Pterodon sternbergii. It once comprised part of the great inland sea that inundated the center of North America, a habitat that was populated by pl
