Fossil from Pterosaur`s Wing Discovered in the Nation for the First Time

Pterosaur`s wing fossil (photo), which flew the sky of the Korean peninsula during the early Cretaceous, 100 million years ago, was discovered intact for the first time in the nation.

Yang Seong-Young (Professor at Kyungbuk University), president of the Paleontological Society of Korea, and Dr. Yim Jong-Duk (visiting researcher in the Earth and Environmental Science Department at Seoul National University) announced yesterday that they found ``the wing fossil -30 centimeter length and 3 centimeter width- in an uninhabited island in the southern sea of Kyungnam.``

The fossil was accidentally discovered by Baek Kwang-Suk, science teacher at Duksan Middle School in Kyungnam, in August. Prof. Yang`s team, along with the natural history museum team in Kansas, U.S., verified the bone as fossil of pterosaur after a two-month examination and displayed it in public. Although a bone of pterosaur, which was presumably a part of the wing, was discovered in dinosaur fossil land in Uhang-li, Haenam-kun, Jeonnam, in 1997, this is the first time in which a complete fossil of wing is discovered.

Considering the size of bone, the width of spread wings is estimated to be about 3.4 meter. Dr. Yim said, ``Since the inside the bone is hollow like a straw, it must be the first joint of the fourth finger, which evolved into a wing. We will be able to find another fossil through additional excavation.``

Pterosaur`s wing fossil (photo), which flew the sky of the Korean peninsula during the early Cretaceous, 100 million years ago, was discovered intact for the first time in the nation.

Yang Seong-Young (Professor at Kyungbuk University), president of the Paleontological Society of Korea, and Dr. Yim Jong-Duk (visiting researcher in the Earth and Environmental Science Department at Seoul National University) announced yesterday that they found ``the wing fossil -30 centimeter length and 3 centimeter width- in an uninhabited island in the southern sea of Kyungnam.``

The fossil was accidentally discovered by Baek Kwang-Suk, science teacher at Duksan Middle School in Kyungnam, in August. Prof. Yang`s team, along with the natural history museum team in Kansas, U.S., verified the bone as fossil of pterosaur after a two-month examination and displayed it in public. Although a bone of pterosaur, which was presumably a part of the wing, was discovered in dinosaur fossil land in Uhang-li, Haenam-kun, Jeonnam, in 1997, this is the first time in which a complete fossil of wing is discovered.

Considering the size of bone, the width of spread wings is estimated to be about 3.4 meter. Dr. Yim said, ``Since the inside the bone is hollow like a straw, it must be the first joint of the fourth finger, which evolved into a wing. We will be able to find another fossil through additional excavation.``

dream@donga.com