Paleontology News
Storm-battered hatchlings reveal how violent Jurassic storms shaped the Solnhofen fossil record.
Two baby pterosaurs from Solnhofen reveal how violent Jurassic storms shaped the fossil record, explaining why delicate juveniles are preserved in abundance while adults remain rare.
Summary Points
Figure 1 from (Smyth et al, 2025) showing the part and counterpart fossils of the two baby pterosaurs showing wing fractures. CC BY-4.0
Baby pterosaurs ("Lucky" and "Lucky II") from Solnhofen died in storms 150 million years ago.
Both show identical wing fractures consistent with violent storm winds.
The storms also rapidly buried the small, fragile juveniles, leading to their excellent preservation.
Larger adults usually survived storms but decayed at sea, leaving fragmentary remains.
This dual preservation model (CATT) explains why Solnhofen fossils are mostly juveniles.
Evidence suggests hatchlings were capable of flight immediately after birth.
Storm-Tossed Hatchlings: How Baby Pterosaurs Became Fossilized in Solnhofen
This news article is based on a News Release from the University of Leicester, and the Journal Article (Smyth, Robert S.H. et al. 2025) from Current Biology
An artist's impression of a tiny Pterodactylus hatchling struggling against a raging tropical storm, inspired by fossil discoveries. Artwork by Rudolf Hima.
Caught in a Jurassic Storm
Just days or weeks after hatching, two tiny pterosaurs took to the skies over a tropical lagoon in what is now southern Germany. But their first flights ended in disaster. Swept from the air by a powerful storm, the hatchlings plunged into the waters below, their fragile wings broken. Though their lives ended in tragedy, their perfectly preserved remains would help solve a mystery that puzzled paleontologists for centuries: why Solnhofen's world-famous fossil beds contain so many juveniles, but so few adults.
The Solnhofen Fossil Treasure
The Solnhofen limestones, formed about 150 million years ago, are among the most famous fossil deposits in the world. This archipelago of islands and lagoons in the Late Jurassic has yielded some of the most exquisite fossils ever found-delicate insects, marine creatures, the iconic Archaeopteryx, and over 500 pterosaurs. These fossils often preserve even soft tissues, providing an unmatched window into prehistoric life.
A World of Flying Reptiles
Pterosaurs dominated the skies during the Jurassic, ranging from small hatchlings no bigger than a sparrow to giants with wingspans rivaling modern planes. At Solnhofen, more than 15 species of pterosaurs have been identified, with Pterodactylus and Rhamphorhynchus among the most common. Yet, paleontologists noticed a strange bias: most specimens are small and juvenile, while adults are rarely found-and usually only as fragments.
The Mystery of Missing Adults
This imbalance puzzled scientists. Larger animals usually fossilize more readily than tiny ones, since their bones are sturdier. Why, then, did Solnhofen preserve so many delicate young pterosaurs in pristine condition while adults were mostly absent? For decades, no clear explanation existed.
Lucky and Lucky II
The answer came from two tiny pterosaur fossils, nicknamed "Lucky" and "Lucky II." Both were neonates of Pterodactylus antiquus, with wingspans under 20 centimeters. Their skeletons were nearly perfect-except for one detail. Each had a broken humerus, the upper arm bone of the wing, fractured at the same angle. The injuries suggested a twisting force in midair, almost certainly caused by violent storm winds.
Storms That Shaped the Fossil Record
These deaths revealed a new perspective: storms were the key. Powerful tropical cyclones swept over the Jurassic archipelago, snatching small, inexperienced pterosaurs from the air. Unable to resist the winds, they drowned in the lagoons. Once in the water, they sank quickly and were rapidly buried by storm-stirred sediments, preserving even their delicate tissues. By contrast, larger, stronger pterosaurs likely survived the storms but floated after death, decomposing over days or weeks. Their remains often broke apart before sinking, leaving only scattered fragments in the fossil record.
Catastrophic vs. Normal Burial
Scientists now recognize two distinct pathways of fossilization at Solnhofen. Storm events created catastrophic preservation, rapidly entombing small animals in nearly perfect condition. In contrast, normal environmental conditions led to attritional preservation, where carcasses lingered on the surface, decayed, and eventually sank as disarticulated remains. This dual model explains why Solnhofen is packed with exquisitely preserved juveniles but lacks complete adults.
A Deeper Understanding of Pterosaurs
The discovery of Lucky and Lucky II does more than explain a fossil bias. It also shows that even the youngest pterosaurs were capable of flight-a finding supported by their broken wings. These insights reshape our understanding of pterosaur development, ecology, and how catastrophic weather events can skew the fossil record.
The Solnhofen limestones remind us that the fossil record is shaped as much by chance as by biology. Storms, sediment, and circumstance all conspired to give us a biased-but breathtaking-snapshot of Jurassic skies. Thanks to the tragedy of two tiny hatchlings, we now see a clearer picture of how pterosaurs lived, flew, and died in the age of dinosaurs.
Figure 5 from (Smyth et al, 2025) showing examples of Pterodactylus fossils glowing under UV light, showing different ways they were preserved. CC BY-4.0
Figure 7 from (Smyth et al, 2025) showing how normal conditions preserve only fragmentary remains of larger pterosaurs, while storms rapidly buried small juveniles intact, leading to their exceptional fossilization. CC BY-4.0
Journal Article:
Smyth, R.S.H., Belben, R., Thomas, R., & Unwin, D.M. Fatal accidents in neonatal pterosaurs and selective sampling in the Solnhofen fossil assemblage. Current Biology (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.08.006
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