A newly let out Australian flying reptile is the most pure specimen ever reveal from the Land Down Under . What ’s more , it could be one of the last survivor of a chemical group of pterodactyl get it on as the anhanguerians . The fauna is described inScientific Reports .
While often mistaken for a variety of dinosaur , pterosaur were really flying reptile , although they weremore nearly relatedto dinosaur and theirfeathered living relativesthan reptilian like crocodiles . The animate being lived from about 220 million age ago up until the late Cretaceous 66 million years ago , when the infamousdino - killing asteroidhurtled into our planet .
The new discovered species was found in ironstone in Queensland’sWinton Formationand has been namedFerrodraco lentoni . Ferrois Latin for iron , referencing the rock ‘n’ roll in which it was find , whiledracomeans dragon , a fitting name for a winged reptile . Meanwhile , Lentonirefers to former Winton Shire mayor Graham Thomas Lenton in quotation of his documentation of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Natural History Museum .
The newly describe branding iron - dragon may be one of the last survivors of a clade that went extinct around 94 million years ago . However , the raw mintage may well have lasted until around 90 - 93 million years ago , towards the start of the Turonian era . Therefore , it appears this group of airborne reptile may have survived longer in Australia than they did anywhere else .
" Given that this is one of the geologically youngest members of [ the anhangueria ] clade , these pterosaurs potentially hold up longer than previously cerebrate , " first writer Adele Pentland of Swinburne University of Technology told IFLScience .
Pterosaur persist have been found on every continent , but only 15 specimen have so far been discovered in Australia . These have generally been constitute of bare fragment , whereas theFerrodracofossil includes parts of the skull and five vertebrae from the anchor . That might not sound like much , but it ’s impressively complete compared to other finds .
analyse the remains , the researchers conclude that their specimen was a member of the anhanguerians thanks to the shape of its jaw and its pointy teeth . What make it a distinct specie are specific dental features such as its small front teeth . The team believe the species ’ wings would have spanned an impressive 4 meters ( 13 feet ) . That ’s about thelength of a Volkswagen Beetle .
Still , that ’s nothing compared to arecently described pterosaurfound in Canada , which swash a wingspan of 10 metre ( 33 substructure ) , or aneven self-aggrandising oneunearthed in the Gobi Desert . It seems the ancient skies were filled with some truly impressive wing beasties .
