---
title: "113 Million Years Ago: How Bacteria Saved a Pterosaur from Decay and Revealed Its Diet"
description: "Scientists have uncovered the secret to the perfect preservation of 113-million-year-old pterosaur bones: ancient bacteria saved them! 🦕🦠 For the first time, extracted steroid molecules revealed what these lizards ate — fish and squids. This discovery changes our understanding of how fossilization works. 🌍🔬"
date: 2026-07-07T16:16:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/bacteria-saved-pterosaur-remains-113-million-years-ago
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# 113 Million Years Ago: How Bacteria Saved a Pterosaur from Decay and Revealed Its Diet

![Pterosaur skeleton preserved in rock by bacteria, revealing its diet](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/07/bakterii-spasli-ostanki-pterozavra-113-millionov-let-razgon/bakterii-spasli-ostanki-pterozavra-113-millionov-let-razgon-1.webp)

Paleontology is experiencing a revolution. An international team of researchers led by Curtin University (Australia) has made a discovery that changes our understanding of how nature preserves traces of life on Earth. Scientists have uncovered the mystery behind the perfect preservation of a pterosaur fossil that has lain underground for over 113 million years. The main "guardians" of the fossil were not geological layers, but ancient microorganisms.

The study, published in the journal iScience, marked a true breakthrough. The object of study was a unique fossilized wing phalanx found in northeastern Brazil. Unlike most finds, this bone was preserved in a volumetric three-dimensional form, not crushed or deformed by the weight of the earth's strata.

### Molecular Detective: What Did Flying Lizards Eat?

The main achievement of the work was that, for the first time in history, paleontologists managed to extract and analyze molecules directly from pterosaur bones. Inside the sample, unique chemical traces were discovered — steroids. These biomarkers became the key to unlocking the diet of the ancient predator.

Kliti Grice, Director of the Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, noted that the found steroids are direct evidence: the prehistoric lizard fed primarily on fish or squids. According to the scientist, such molecular research opens a new era in paleontology, allowing us to literally "look into the plate" of creatures that went extinct millions of years ago.

### The Oxygen Paradox: Enemy or Savior?

For a long time, the scientific community believed that oxygen was the main enemy of fossils. It was thought that it triggers oxidation processes that quickly destroy organic tissues, leaving no chance for preservation. However, the discovery of the Brazilian pterosaur proves the opposite.

In this case, oxygen itself became the driver of conservation. Specific microorganisms activated by oxygen created a kind of "biological shield" around the bone. This mechanism managed to cement the wing structure before it could be destroyed by external factors or the colossal pressure of the ocean floor.

### A New Global Preservation Mechanism

Scientists suggest that this protective mechanism of the ancient microbiome is now being detected in other parts of the planet. Researchers believe they have discovered a new global type of conservation (the so-called Lagerstätten mechanism), where tiny bacteria act as the main saviors of ancient fauna remains, allowing us to study them in minute detail today.