Jeholopterus: a Jurassic pterosaur with preserved wing membranes

Jeholopterus ningchengensis is a small pterosaur from Daohugou in northern China. Its nearly complete articulated skeleton preserves impressions of the flight membrane and hairlike body fibres. The fossil makes it possible to examine more than bones, although feeding behaviour and original colour remain uncertain. The age of the Daohugou beds has also been revised since the species was named in 2002.

Quick facts

A fossil split between two slab surfaces

Holotype IVPP V12705 came from finely layered Daohugou rocks. Its skeleton remained articulated, while splitting the slab left impressions across two surfaces. The skull, vertebral column, limbs and much of the wings can be studied together with traces of soft tissue. Such preservation tests reconstructions usually based on bones alone.

The original 2002 paper assigned the beds to the Early Cretaceous. Later stratigraphic work dated the Daohugou assemblage to the Late Jurassic, approximately 161–160 million years ago. This is a date for the surrounding geological sequence, not a measurement on the individual skeleton. Daohugoupterus comes from the same fossil-bearing region but is a different genus.

A short skull and an estimated wingspan

The skull is short and broad, a feature of anurognathids. Its length was estimated at about 28 mm in the original description. The authors also noted short metacarpals and an elongated fifth toe. They estimated a wingspan of approximately 90 cm from the skeleton; an intact, fully spread membrane was not available for direct measurement.

The skull and small teeth have been used to infer insect feeding. No confirmed stomach contents with identifiable prey are known from the holotype, however. As with Eosipterus, anatomical clues and direct dietary evidence must be kept separate.

A membrane with internal fibres

A later soft-tissue study found that the flight membrane reached towards the ankle. Fibrous structures in the outer wing zone appear in several layers. The researchers distinguished a firmer outer part and more flexible inner part of the membrane. These features constrain wing anatomy but do not determine an exact flight speed or hunting method.

Hairlike pycnofibres are preserved around the body and parts of the wing. They show that the animal was not uniformly bare-skinned. The fossil's present brown tones cannot be read as its original colour pattern.

What a living scene adds

The second image imagines a small pterosaur in a forested lake environment. Perching, colour and prey choice are interpretive details, while the bones, membrane traces and body fibres are preserved evidence.