A NEW species of pterosaur – a giant, flying, carnivorous reptile – has been discovered in the Australian outback.
Kevin Peterson, who has a deep interest in paleontology, found the bones in 2021 while searching for gold.
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The fossilized remains reveal a “fearsome” reptilian beast with a massive 15-foot wingspan, roughly the height of a giraffe.
It was classified as Haliskia petersenia new genus and species of Anhanguerian pterosaur.
“With a wingspan of approximately 15 feet, Halískia it would have been a fearsome predator around 100 million years ago, when much of central-west Queensland was underwater,” said Adele Pentland, from the Curtin School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, who led the research team, in a communicated.
It is known that Anhanguerians inhabit regions that we now call Brazil, England, Morocco, China, Spain and the United States.
What were Pterosaurs?
Pterosaurs – often called pterodactyls – were a group of bird-like reptiles that roamed the Earth during the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous period.
They were distinct from Archeopteryx, the earliest ancestors of the birds we know today.
Pterosaurs are known for their diverse sizes and adaptations.
They can range from small bird-like creatures to enormous predators with wingspans of over 32 feet.
The teeth of early pterosaurs suggest they used to feed on insects, before switching to a diet of meat and fish over several million years.
The discovery of a previously unknown species of pterosaur that thrived 100 million years ago “thrilled” Peterson, who is curator of the Kronosaurus Korner museum in Richmond, Australia.
“I was checking out another fossil and heading back to the car when I noticed bones sticking out of the ground,” Peterson said in a statement.
“This discovery is an exciting boost for science, education and regional tourism.
“I am thrilled that my discovery is a new species, as my passion lies in helping shape our modern knowledge of prehistoric species.”
Why did dinosaurs die?
Here’s what you need to know…
- The extinction of the dinosaurs was a sudden mass extinction event on Earth
- It wiped out about three-quarters of our planet’s plant and animal species about 66 million years ago.
- This event marked the end of the Cretaceous period and opened the Cenozoic Era, which we are still in today.
- Scientists generally believe that a huge comet or asteroid about 14 kilometers wide collided with Earth, devastating the planet.
- This impact is said to have triggered a prolonged “impact winter”, seriously damaging plant life and the food chain that depended on it.
- More recent research suggests that this impact “ignited” massive volcanic activity, which also led to the extinction of life.
- Some research has suggested that dinosaur numbers were already declining due to climate change at the time.
- But a study published in March 2019 claims that dinosaurs were likely “thriving” before the extinction event.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
