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.&nbsp;

The latest study, titled, "Haliskia peterseni, a new anhanguerian pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia", has been published in Scientific Reports.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/narco-driven-deforestation-threatens-tropical-birds-reveals-study-731180">Narco-driven deforestation threatens tropical birds, reveals study</a>&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/elephants-greet-each-other-using-distinctive-names-just-like-humans-study-730860">Elephants greet each other using distinctive names, just like humans: Study</a>&nbsp;

"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,"&nbsp;Pentland further added.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

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.

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. Also read: Narco-driven deforestation threatens tropical birds, reveals study 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. Also read: Elephants greet each other using distinctive names, just like humans: Study "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)

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

The remains of the largest pterosaur on record from the Jurassic period with a wingspan of more than 8 feet and a mouth full of sharp teeth was unearthed in Scotland.

The flying reptile—dating between 201.3 million and1 45 million years ago—was found in&nbsp;Isle of Skye, Scotland, in 2017.&nbsp;Its skeleton was embedded in limestone.&nbsp;

A PhD student, Amelia Penny, spotted its sharp-toothed jaw protruding from an ancient limestone on Skye's coast.

A detailed examination was undertaken following its discovery in 2017, and the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2022/largest-jurassic-pterosaur-found-on-scottish-isle">study</a> was recently published in the journal, Current Biology.

According to the studies, the winged lizard had a 2.5m (8ft) wingspan— around the size of the largest flying birds today, such as the wandering albatross.

The research, led by PhD student Natalia Jagielska, also revealed that the creature was a species new to science.

It has now been given Scottish Gaelic name&nbsp;Dearc sgiathanach&nbsp;(jark ski-an-ach), a double meaning of "winged reptile" and "reptile from Skye,"

<img alt="An artist's impression of Dearch" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="4b7e13cc-7bcb-4515-888a-de1798da3f8b" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/dino%202.jpg" />

“Dearc is the biggest pterosaur we know from the Jurassic period, and that tells us that pterosaurs got larger much earlier than we thought, long before the Cretaceous period, when they were competing with birds — and that's hugely significant,” study senior researcher Steve Brusatte, a professor and personal chair of paleontology and evolution at the University of Edinburgh,&nbsp;said in a statement.

Pterosaurs, which are not&nbsp;dinosaurs, are the first known vertebrates to have evolved powered flight — a feat they accomplished about 50 million years before birds did.

The oldest pterosaurs on the record date to about 230 million years ago, during the Triassic period, and it was previously thought that they didn't reach huge sizes until the very late Jurassic or the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago).

However, to fly, pterosaurs needed lightweight, delicate bones — a feature that means their remains rarely fossilized well.

"To achieve flight, pterosaurs had hollow bones with thin bone walls, making their remains incredibly fragile and unfit to preserving for millions of years," study lead researcher Natalia Jagielska, a doctoral candidate of paleontology at the University of Edinburgh, said in the statement.

"And yet our skeleton, about 160 million years on since its death, remains in almost pristine condition, articulated [the bones are in anatomical order] and almost complete. Its sharp fish-snatching teeth still retaining a shiny enamel cover as if he were alive mere weeks ago."

The remains of the largest pterosaur on record from the Jurassic period with a wingspan of more than 8 feet and a mouth full of sharp teeth was unearthed in Scotland.

The remains of the largest pterosaur on record from the Jurassic period with a wingspan of more than 8 feet and a mouth full of sharp teeth was unearthed in Scotland. The flying reptile—dating between 201.3 million and1 45 million years ago—was found in Isle of Skye, Scotland, in 2017. Its skeleton was embedded in limestone. A PhD student, Amelia Penny, spotted its sharp-toothed jaw protruding from an ancient limestone on Skye's coast. A detailed examination was undertaken following its discovery in 2017, and the study was recently published in the journal, Current Biology. According to the studies, the winged lizard had a 2.5m (8ft) wingspan— around the size of the largest flying birds today, such as the wandering albatross. The research, led by PhD student Natalia Jagielska, also revealed that the creature was a species new to science. It has now been given Scottish Gaelic name Dearc sgiathanach (jark ski-an-ach), a double meaning of "winged reptile" and "reptile from Skye," “Dearc is the biggest pterosaur we know from the Jurassic period, and that tells us that pterosaurs got larger much earlier than we thought, long before the Cretaceous period, when they were competing with birds — and that's hugely significant,” study senior researcher Steve Brusatte, a professor and personal chair of paleontology and evolution at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement. Pterosaurs, which are not dinosaurs, are the first known vertebrates to have evolved powered flight — a feat they accomplished about 50 million years before birds did. The oldest pterosaurs on the record date to about 230 million years ago, during the Triassic period, and it was previously thought that they didn't reach huge sizes until the very late Jurassic or the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago). However, to fly, pterosaurs needed lightweight, delicate bones — a feature that means their remains rarely fossilized well. "To achieve flight, pterosaurs had hollow bones with thin bone walls, making their remains incredibly fragile and unfit to preserving for millions of years," study lead researcher Natalia Jagielska, a doctoral candidate of paleontology at the University of Edinburgh, said in the statement. "And yet our skeleton, about 160 million years on since its death, remains in almost pristine condition, articulated [the bones are in anatomical order] and almost complete. Its sharp fish-snatching teeth still retaining a shiny enamel cover as if he were alive mere weeks ago."

Remains of world's largest pterosaur from Jurassic period found in Scotland, leaving scientists astounded

pterosaurs

Pterosaurs, News on Pterosaurs, stories on Pterosaurs, articles on Pterosaurs, Pterosaurs stories at Wion, Pterosaurs news, Pterosaurs latest news