Pterosaur Research:Recent Advances and a Future Revolution  

作　　者：David W.E.HONE 

机构地区：[1]Department of Earth Sciences,University of Bristol [2]School of Biological and Chemical Sciences,Queen Mary University of London

出　　处：《Acta Geologica Sinica(English Edition)》2012年第6期1366-1376,共11页地质学报（英文版）

摘　　要：In the years since the first description of a pterosaur specimen in 1784, pterosaur research has inevitably advanced considerably. However the last decade has arguably seen a much greater increase in our knowledge than the preceding two centuries. Since the turn of the new millennium, more than 40 new pterosaur genera and species have been described and whole new clades have been discovered, in addition to much new data being developed on pterosaur anatomy, functional morphology, palaeobiology, systematics, ecology and more. We are perhaps at the start of a golden age of pterosaur research and much as the dinosaurs underwent a revolution in the 1970s through to the early 1990s, now the Pterosauria are taking their turn. There is also a new and wider interest in pterosaur work as it attracts both more researchers and greater public interest. Pterosaurs appear to be an increasingly popular aspect of paleontology in popular culture and of interest to the media, both mainstream and digital.In the years since the first description of a pterosaur specimen in 1784, pterosaur research has inevitably advanced considerably. However the last decade has arguably seen a much greater increase in our knowledge than the preceding two centuries. Since the turn of the new millennium, more than 40 new pterosaur genera and species have been described and whole new clades have been discovered, in addition to much new data being developed on pterosaur anatomy, functional morphology, palaeobiology, systematics, ecology and more. We are perhaps at the start of a golden age of pterosaur research and much as the dinosaurs underwent a revolution in the 1970s through to the early 1990s, now the Pterosauria are taking their turn. There is also a new and wider interest in pterosaur work as it attracts both more researchers and greater public interest. Pterosaurs appear to be an increasingly popular aspect of paleontology in popular culture and of interest to the media, both mainstream and digital.

关 键 词：PALEONTOLOGY PTEROSAURIA science history of research ACADEMIA 

分 类 号：Q915[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]