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Scientists Unearth Fossils of 'Missing Link' Flying Reptiles

Researchers believe Darwinopterus is proof of modular evolution

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 14, 2009 2:04 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Scientists have discovered the remains of a flying reptile in China that they believe represents the "missing link" in a controversial theory of evolution. The reptile—named Darwinopterus in honor of Charles Darwin—lived some 160 million years ago and has features from both early, short-tailed pterodactyls and their huge, long-tailed descendants. "It’s as if someone said, ‘Let’s nail these two together and make a sort of chimera; that’ll really confuse everybody," one scientist said.

Darwinopterus appears to have evolved quickly, scientists say, changing whole series of traits at a time instead of single features in an example of "modular evolution." The fossils provide "hard evidence for that kind of pattern,” one expert told Science News. “The challenge now is to find the genetic mechanism that would allow this to happen."

Darwinopterus was a crow-sized carnivore that existed 160 million years ago.
Darwinopterus was a crow-sized carnivore that existed 160 million years ago.   (Lü Junchang/Geological Institute, Beijing)
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The head and neck evolved first, followed later by the body, tail, wings and legs. It seems that natural selection was changing entire modules and not, as would normally be expected, single features. - British pterosaur expert David Unwin
of Leicester University

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
Snarfeh
Oct 15, 2009 3:29 AM CDT
@aelius - Yeah, I know it has to do with political correctness and I would expand on what I think of that, but in the interest of not adding more politics to what was a very interesting thread between you, Greg and Rob, I'll let that one go.
bewilderbeast
Oct 15, 2009 2:42 AM CDT
Was there ever a new fossil find that was NOT a "missing link"? Or that didn't PROVE what that paleontologist was trying to prove before he found it? Scientists are as much to blame as reporters in how a story gets condensed and simplified for the lay press. "Modular" vs "incremental" evolution can hardly be proved or disproved from a single fossil. It will be argued both ways depending on that paleontologist's preference. FASCINATING find, though!
Aelius28
Oct 14, 2009 12:13 PM CDT
shonangreg, I appreciate your respectfulness. I don't get the impression Rob was asking for any kind of references. I understood him to be saying that it's inappropriate to be making generalisations - something I hear a lot. I was trying to reason to him that it's not only impractical but impossible to do anything BUT make generalisations for most things about such large amounts of people. If you were in a room with 5 friends you could say "Everyone's been to a concert." but you can't say "Everyone from our high school has been to a concert" with the same degree of accuracy. Hence, generalisations take over at this level.

 
evolution • fossil • Charles Darwin • pterodactyl • reptiles

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