Climate drivers and palaeobiogeography of lagerpetids and early pterosaurs

The origin of pterosaurs, the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight, is poorly understood, owing to the temporal and morphological gaps that separate them from their closest non-flying relatives, the lagerpetids. Although both groups coexisted during the Late Triassic, their limited sympatry is currently unexplained, indicating that ecological partitioning, potentially linked to palaeoclimate, influenced their early evolution. Here we analysed pterosauromorph (pterosaur + lagerpetid) palaeobiogeography using phylogeny-based probabilistic methods and integrating fossil occurrences with palaeoclimate data. Our results reveal distinct climatic preferences and dispersal histories: lagerpetids tolerated a broader range of conditions, including arid belts, enabling a widespread distribution from the Middle to early Late Triassic. Conversely, pterosaurs preferred wetter environments, resulting in a patchier geographical distribution that expanded only as humidity increased in the Late Triassic, probably following the Carnian Pluvial Event. This major environmental disturbance, potentially driven by changes in CO -related thermal constraints and/or palaeogeography, appears to have had a key role in shaping early pterosauromorph evolution by promoting spatial segregation and distinct climatic niche occupation.

Funder

Funder name	Awards
EC \| Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant no 947921
Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 – Science Fellowship
Leverhulme Trust	RPG-2019-365
Emerging Talents Initiative
Royal Society	Newton International Fellowship (NIF\R1\231802)
Juan de la Cierva Formacià³n 2020 Fellowship
RCUK \| Natural Environment Research Council	NE/X013111/1
Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists