New species of flying reptile that lived among dinosaurs 200 million years ago discovered
Scientists ID new pterosaur species small enough to perch on person’s shoulder
- Researchers have identified a new species of pterosaur, Eotephradactylus mcintireae, which is the oldest known pterosaur in North America.
- The fossilised jawbone of the winged reptile, dating back 209 million years, was uncovered in 2011 by scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
- The discovery was made at a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, where the jawbone was preserved in volcanic ash.
- The newly identified pterosaur was small enough to perch on a person’s shoulder and likely fed on fish, as indicated by its worn teeth.
- The site has yielded over 1,200 individual fossils, including those of an ancient turtle, suggesting rapid dispersal of turtles across Pangaea.