Teaching overview
Learning points
- Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs (although pterosaurs were not in fact dinosaurs).
- Pterosaur embryos were found without teeth and with poorly developed front limbs, suggesting that they were born helpless and reliant on their parents.
- Some scientists think that we haven’t seen enough embryos to be able to figure out exactly how pterosaurs developed before they hatched.
Curriculum keywords
- Fossils
- Paleontology
- Animals
Read the story
Scientists have found more than 200 fossilized pterosaur eggs in northwest China. They think the eggs are 120 million years old!
Share with students
Spark a discussion
- What are pterosaurs?
- Why have the discovery of fossilized pterosaur eggs caused some scientists to think that pterosaurs looked after their young?
- Do you think there is enough evidence to assume that pterosaurs did look after their young? Why or why not?
Twig Science: A Complete Pre-K–8 Program for the NGSS
Immersive Investigations with High-Quality Multimedia
- Investigating, designing, building, and understanding phenomena
- Hands-on, digital, video, and print investigations
- Synchronous/asynchronous distance learning