Here you can find our current research: brand-new information from botany, entomology, paleontology and zoology. The latest research results are briefly presented here and provide an insight into our work as a research museum. Information about our main research topics can be found on the pages of the respective research departments.
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The last menu of pterosaurs
Rekonstruktion eines urzeitlichen Lebensraumes des frühen Juras Südwestdeutschlands im Museum am Löwentor
Pterosaurs ruled the skies during the age of the dinosaurs. Over millions of years, they evolved into an enormous variety of forms, including giant species with wingspans of up to 12 metres. But little is known about how and what these pterosaurs ate. The spectacular discovery of fossilised stomach contents in two pterosaurs species, Dorygnathus and Campylognathoides, from the Early Jurassic of Southwest-Germany has provided new insights into their diet and feeding behavior.
The stomach contents show that the pterosaur Dorygnathus ate small fish, while Campylognathoides ate prehistoric squid. This oldest and world's first clear evidence of squid consumption in pterosaurs tells researchers a lot about the animals' lifestyle, ecology and evolution.
