Early pterosaur fossils were mainly discovered in marine limestone in Italy and Solnhofen, Germany. Therefore, scientists once speculated that this flying reptile lived by the sea like some modern seabirds. Later, with the continuous discovery of pterosaur fossils and the gradual increase in their origins, especially the large number of pterosaur fossils found in lacustrine environments such as Wulong and Liaoxi in China, scientists gradually changed their original views.
Between 130 million and 120 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous period, the Liaoxi region was covered by vast forests and lakes, and volcanic activities also occurred frequently. When volcanoes erupted, large amounts of toxic gases and harmful elements were emitted, causing the mass death of many creatures, including pterosaurs, birds, and feathered dinosaurs, which were quickly buried by volcanic ash and other sediments. Therefore, pterosaur and bird fossils, which are difficult to preserve in other places, were not only found in large quantities locally, but also often preserved with soft tissue structures such as feathers.
The exquisite pterosaur fossils preserved in lacustrine environments, such as the frog-mouthed pterosaur and forest pterosaur, indicate that pterosaurs not only lived by the sea, but also lived on the banks of lakes or in forests in the interior; many small pterosaurs had arboreal living habits and lived in trees, feeding on insects in the forests.