New species of pterosaur discovered using 100-million-year-old fossilised bones

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of pterosaur after analysing 100-million-year-old fossilised bones uncovered in western Queensland, Australia. The fossilised remains belonged to a flying reptile and it lived among the dinosaurs.

The latest study, titled, "Haliskia peterseni, a new anhanguerian pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia", has been published in Scientific Reports.

The study, led by Curtin University, is based on fossilised remains which were unearthed in 2021 by Kevin Petersen, a curator at the Kronosaurus Korner Museum in Richmond, Australia. The remains belong to Haliskia peterseni, which is a new genus and species of anhanguerian pterosaur.

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What are pterosaurs? Previous studies have revealed that the pterosaurs were a group of flying reptiles that lived during the age of dinosaurs, from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous period.

From small birdlike creatures to massive predators with giant wingspans, they are known for their diverse sizes and adaptations. Several pterosaurs, including Quetzalcoatlus, which are said to be the largest flying animal ever discovered, were shown in Hollywood movies such as Jurassic Park.

The research team led by PhD student Adele Pentland, from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, identified the specimen as an anhanguerian. They analysed the shape of its skull, arrangement of teeth and shape of the shoulder bone. Anhanguerian is a group of pterosaurs known to have lived worldwide, including in what is now Brazil, England, Morocco, China, Spain and the United States.

"With a wingspan of approximately 4.6 m, Haliskia would have been a fearsome predator around 100 million years ago when much of central western Queensland was underwater, covered by a vast inland sea and globally positioned about where Victoria's southern coastline is today," Pentland said.

"Careful preparation by Mr. Petersen has provided the remains of the most complete specimen of an anhanguerian, and of any pterosaur, discovered in Australia to date. Haliskia is 22 percent complete, making it more than twice as complete as the only other known partial pterosaur skeleton found in Australia.

"The specimen includes complete lower jaws, the tip of the upper jaw, 43 teeth, vertebrae, ribs, bones from both wings and part of a leg. Also present are very thin and delicate throat bones, indicating a muscular tongue, which helped during feeding on fish and cephalopods,"Pentland further added.

(With inputs from agencies)