Kunpengopterus - The Thumbed Pterosaurs

Having opposable thumbs is one of the key traits of being human and being an evolutionary adaptation originally being used for arboreal locomotion, which is now key to our societies and how we function, allowing us to better manipulate tools and objects to achieve things that would otherwise be impossible without them. Thumbs aren’t just found in humans though, as many other mammals, reptiles and even amphibians also possess them, although to a lesser extent in the latter two groups, showing how key the adaptation is to a shared niche and that it has evolved multiple times in unrelated animal groups.

A new discovery from China further emphasises the range of organisms that this trait can be exhibited in, and in a group that over the years has proven that they are even more diverse and marvellous than they already were previously, this group being the Pterosaurs. With a range of differing body plans, diets and sizes, they have captured the imagination of people interested in the sciences for many years, and while once considered to be evolutionary stepping stones for birds to take over, are now being recognised as the successful, perfectly adapted and varied animals that they are now known to be, and the discovery that will be discussed in this video is further proof of that. I hope you enjoy.

Background music:
After All - Geographer
Uum 7ths
Home - Resonance
Bright Idea - Geographer
Thin Places - Jesse Gallagher

Make sure to like and subscribe to learn more about our wonderful world!

Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982221003699?dgcid=author#bib18
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogeny_of_pterosaurs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhamphorhynchoidea
https://twitter.com/FionMaWS/status/1381622176290385920
https://twitter.com/pegasaurus_42/status/1381632819798085634
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunpengopterus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wukongopteridae
http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/kunpengopterus-antipollicatus-09548.html
https://www.morphosource.org/projects/000347015
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb
https://www.scielo.br/j/aabc/a/p4G3DrPjL7BddP4FkZnGM9x/?lang=en
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Gravid-pterosaur-of-Kunpengopterus-sp-with-two-eggs-one-inside-the-body-cavity-and-a_fig5_279991589

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research.

All video/game content is recorded and edited under fair use rights for reasons of commentary and social satire.

Видео Kunpengopterus - The Thumbed Pterosaurs канала Henry the PaleoGuy