Editing Pterosaur (section)

===Pterosaur renaissance===
[[File:Zhenjiangopterus jconway.jpg|thumb|left|This drawing of ''[[Zhejiangopterus]]'' by John Conway exemplifies the "new look" of pterosaurs]]
The situation for dinosaurs was comparable. From the 1960s onwards, a [[dinosaur renaissance]] took place, a quick increase in the number of studies and critical ideas, influenced by the discovery of additional fossils of ''[[Deinonychus]]'', whose spectacular traits refuted what had become entrenched orthodoxy. In 1970, likewise the description of the furry pterosaur ''[[Sordes]]'' began what [[Robert Bakker]] named a renaissance of pterosaurs.<ref>Bakker, Robert, 1986, ''The Dinosaur Heresies'', Londen: Penguin Books, 1988, p. 283</ref> [[Kevin Padian]] especially propagated the new views, publishing a series of studies depicting pterosaurs as warm-blooded, active and running animals.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Padian | first1 = K | year = 1979 | title = The wings of pterosaurs: A new look | journal = Discovery | volume = 14 | pages = 20–29 }}</ref><ref>Padian, K., 1980, ''Studies of the structure, evolution, and flight of pterosaurs (reptilia: Pterosauria)'', Ph.D. diss., Department of Biology, Yale University</ref><ref name="Padian1983"/> This coincided with a revival of the German school through the work of [[Peter Wellnhofer]], who in 1970s laid the foundations of modern pterosaur science.{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=5}} In 1978, he published the first pterosaur textbook,{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=9}} the ''Handbuch der Paläoherptologie, Teil 19: Pterosauria'',<ref>Wellnhofer, P., 1978, ''Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie XIX. Pterosauria'', Urban & Fischer, München</ref> and in 1991 the second ever popular science pterosaur book,{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=9}} the ''Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs''.{{sfn|Wellnhofer|1991|pp=1–192}}

This development accelerated through the exploitation of two new ''Lagerstätten''.{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=9}} During the 1970s, the Early Cretaceous [[Santana Formation]] in Brazil began to produce chalk nodules that, though often limited in size and the completeness of the fossils they contained, perfectly preserved three-dimensional pterosaur skeletal parts.{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=9}} German and Dutch institutes bought such nodules from fossil poachers and prepared them in Europe, allowing their scientists to describe many new species and revealing a whole new fauna. Soon, Brazilian researchers, among them [[Alexander Kellner]], intercepted the trade and named even more species.
[[File:Sinopterus_dongi_NMNS.jpg|thumb|Specimen of ''[[Sinopterus]]'', one of many excellent pterosaurs fossils from [[Liaoning]], [[China]]]]
Even more productive was the Early Cretaceous Chinese [[Jehol Biota]] of [[Liaoning]] that since the 1990s has brought forth hundreds of exquisitely preserved two-dimensional fossils, often showing soft tissue remains. Chinese researchers such as [[Lü Junchang]] have again named many new taxa. As discoveries also increased in other parts of the world, a sudden surge in the total of named genera took place. By 2009, when they had increased to about ninety, this growth showed no sign of levelling-off.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dyke | first1 = G.J. McGowan | last2 = Nudds | first2 = R.L. | last3 = Smith | first3 = D. | year = 2009 | title = The shape of pterosaur evolution: evidence from the fossil record | journal = Journal of Evolutionary Biology | volume = 22 | issue = 4| pages = 890–98 | doi = 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01682.x | pmid = 19210587 | s2cid = 32518380 | doi-access = free }}</ref> In 2013, M.P. Witton indicated that the number of discovered pterosaur species had risen to 130.<ref name=WittonPycnofibres>{{harvnb|Witton|2013}}</ref> Over ninety percent of known taxa has been named during the "renaissance". Many of these were from groups the existence of which had been unknown.{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=9}} Advances in computing power enabled researchers to determine their complex relationships through the [[quantitative method]] of [[cladistics]]. New and old fossils yielded much more information when subjected to modern ultraviolet light or roentgen photography, or [[CAT-scan]]s.{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=10}} Insights from other fields of biology were applied to the data obtained.{{sfn|Witton|2013|p=10}} All this resulted in a substantial progress in pterosaur research, rendering older accounts in popular science books completely outdated.

In 2017 a fossil from a 170-million-year-old pterosaur, later named as the species ''[[Dearc sgiathanach]]'' in 2022, was discovered on the [[Isle of Skye]] in [[Scotland]]. The [[National Museum of Scotland]] claims that it is the largest of its kind ever discovered from the [[Jurassic period]], and it has been described as the world's best-preserved skeleton of a pterosaur.<ref>{{cite web |title='Superbly preserved' pterosaur fossil unearthed in Scotland |date=22 Feb 2022 |website=Associated Press (AP) |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-02-superbly-pterosaur-fossil-unearthed-scotland.html}}</ref>