A new study published in Current Biology offers a dramatic reinterpretation of one of the world’s most famous fossil sites. The limestone quarries of Solnhofen, Germany - which yielded the iconic Archaeopteryx - have also preserved hundreds of exquisitely detailed pterosaur skeletons. Yet for decades, paleontologists puzzled over why the vast majority of these flying reptiles were tiny juveniles rather than full-grown adults.
The research team, led by David Hone of Queen Mary University of London and colleagues in Germany and Spain, examined two exceptionally complete neonatal Pterodactylus specimens, informally nicknamed Lucky and Lucky II. Both were preserved in articulated form, with delicate wing bones intact - an extraordinary rarity given how fragile pterosaur skeletons were in life.
Detailed analysis revealed sharp, oblique fractures in the humerus of both juveniles. The absence of tooth marks or scavenging damage pointed to a very different cause of death: violent mechanical stress. According to the authors, the most plausible explanation is that the hatchlings were caught in extreme wind shear during tropical storms, which battered them mid-flight and sent them crashing into the shallow lagoon waters of Jurassic Bavaria.
Once grounded, the small pterosaurs sank quickly and were entombed in lime-rich, oxygen-poor sediments that halted decay and scavenging. This rapid burial explains why Solnhofen fossils often preserve fine details, from skin impressions to wafer-thin wing bones.
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Larger pterosaurs, however, tell a different story. Being more robust, adults could often ride out storms - or, if they died, their bigger carcasses tended to float, decay, and fall apart before burial. This helps explain why articulated adult pterosaur fossils are vanishingly rare compared to their juvenile counterparts.
The implications reach beyond Solnhofen. For decades, paleontologists assumed the fossil record’s dominance of small-bodied pterosaurs reflected true population structures, suggesting colonies of juveniles or rapid mortality among the young. The new study instead shows this was largely a preservational illusion. Catastrophic storm events selectively killed and fossilized the most fragile individuals, creating a biased fossil archive.
The authors argue this realization forces a reassessment of pterosaur paleoecology. “Storm-driven mortality and rapid burial explain why neonates dominate the Solnhofen record,” the study reports, warning that assemblages like these cannot be read at face value as reflections of ancient ecosystems.