Richard Collins: Baby giant pterosaurs had caring parents

Cork scientists have shown that larger members of the pterosaur tribe were actually devoted parents

Unlike their smaller relatives, which were able to fend for themselves soon after hatching, the wings of large pterosaur babies were only partially developed when emerging from the egg. Helpless to flee from danger, they needed prolonged parental support until being able to take wing. Image by Zixiao Yang.

‘Dear Diplodocus, dear Pterosaur … like you, we must now witness the end of our species, and pass from Earthly view’ — Margaret Atwood in The Year of the Flood.

In 2017, the well-preserved fossil of a flying reptile was found on the Isle of Skye. It was named ‘dearc sciathánach’ — a translation of ‘pterosaur’, Greek for ‘wing-lizard’.