A formidable flying reptile – a pterosaur – once patrolled the skies over an ancient sea. It had a wingspan much larger than that of a pelican, with powerful jaws and tongue for catching fish and cephalopods. When it died, some of its bones were buried in marine sediment and eventually became fossilized. One hundred million years passed. The sea where it lived has long since disappeared and is now an arid expanse in western Queensland, Australia. On June 12, 2024, an international team of researchers said they’ve identified fossils belonging to this flying cousin of dinosaurs.
In 2021, Kevin Petersen, a curator at the Kronosaurus Korner Museum in Queensland, found the pterosaur’s fossilized bones weathering out of some rocks. He carefully excavated it for scientific study. Then, researchers who analyzed the bones discovered the species was new to science. They published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports/ Springer Nature on June 12, 2024.
When dinosaurs once dominated life on land, large flying reptiles like pterosaurs ruled the skies.
Contrary to popular belief, pterosaurs were not flying dinosaurs. Instead, they were reptiles related to dinosaurs. These creatures, scientists think, were the first vertebrate animals to evolve powered flight. That is, they were able to continually flap their wings to keep themselves aloft for long periods.
Pterosaur fossils have been found worldwide. But they’re relatively rare because their bones are thin and fragile, and therefore often not well-preserved.
These creatures first emerged about 225 million years ago. And they became extinct 66 million years ago, around the same time most dinosaurs perished. But for almost 160 million years, pterosaurs thrived. They evolved to form many different species, ranging in size from a pigeon to a small aircraft.
Adele Pentland, a graduate student at Curtin University, led the study of the fossil. She was able to identify the specimen as a type of pterosaur called an anhanguerian, based on its skull, teeth and shoulder bones. Other distinctive features about the specimen also indicated it was a new species, unique to the fossil record.
Haliskia peterseni is the name of this new pterosaur species. In their paper, the scientists described the origin of its name. The genus name, Haliskia, is a combination of ancient Greek words that evoke “a flying creature that casts a shadow on the sea.” The species name, peterseni, is in honor of Kevin Petersen who discovered and prepared the fossil.
Pentland said:
With a wingspan of approximately 4.6 m [15 feet], 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.
She also had these comments about the fossil:
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% 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 provided some additional details about the pterosaur’s head in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
This animal was an adult, with a big head about 60 cm long, or 2 feet, long. And in those jaws were dozens of spike-shaped teeth. So, we looked at the shape of the skull and we think it was probably eating fish and squid-like cephalopods.
Bottom line: A fossil unearthed in western Queensland, Australia, is a new species of pterosaur. Scientists named it Haliskia peterseni.
Source: Haliskia peterseni, a new anhanguerian pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia
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