The “Dragon of Death” discovered in Argentina: a huge ancient flying reptile since a school bus lived next to the dinosaurs 86 million years ago
- Remains of a huge flying reptile called “The Dragon of Death” found in Argentina
- At about 30 feet (9 m) long, it is the largest pterosaur discovered in South America
- It is estimated that the species lived next to the dinosaurs 86 million years ago
- Argentine experts said the “beast” would probably have been a terrifying sight
From Sam Tonkin for Mailonline
Posted: 10:37, 24 May 2022 | Updated: 10:59, May 24, 2022
The fossilized remains of a huge flying reptile called the ‘Death Dragon’, which lived next to the dinosaurs 86 million years ago, have been discovered in Argentina.
About 9 m long, it is the largest pterosaur discovered in South America and one of the largest flying vertebrates ever.
Researchers said the “beast” would probably have been a terrifying sight as it hunted its prey from the prehistoric sky.
The dreaded species is estimated to have lived at least 20 million years before the impact of an asteroid on the current Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico killed about three-quarters of life on the planet 66 million years ago. years.
Giant Beast: In Argentina, the remains of a huge flying reptile called ‘Dragon of Death’, which lived next to dinosaurs 86 million years ago, have been discovered.
Researchers said the “beast” would probably have been a terrifying sight as it hunted its prey from the prehistoric sky.
At about 9 m (30 ft) long, it is the largest pterosaur discovered in South America and one of the largest flying vertebrates it has ever lived.
This graph shows how Thanatosdrakon amaru (F) compares in size to the current Andean condor (A), the wandering albatross (B), and other pterosaurs, including the larger Quetzalcoatlus (G).
A team of paleontologists has discovered fossils of the newly minted Thanatosdrakon amaru in the Andes Mountains in the western Argentine province of Mendoza.
The leader of the project, Leonardo Ortiz, said that the unpublished features of the fossil required a new name for the genus and species, and the latter combined ancient Greek words for death (thanatos) and dragon (drakon).
“It seemed appropriate to call it that,” said Ortiz of Cuyo National University in Mendoza.
“It’s the dragon of death.”
The reptile was as long as a yellow school bus with an estimated wingspan of about 9 m (30 ft).
About 40 bones and fragments were unearthed by the team of paleontologists.
About 40 bones and fragments were unearthed by the team of paleontologists (pictured)
Researchers said the fossil’s huge bones rank the new species as the largest pterosaur ever discovered in South America and one of the largest found in the world.
Project leader Leonardo Ortiz said the unheard-of features of the fossil required a new genus and species name.
The huge fossil bones are said to classify the new species as the largest pterosaur ever discovered in South America and one of the largest found in the world.
Researchers found that the rocks that preserved the remains of the reptile date back 86 million years to the Cretaceous period, which lasted between 145 and 66 million years.
“We don’t have a current record of any close relatives who even have a body modification similar to these beasts,” Ortiz said.
The researchers wrote in their article that Thanatosdrakon “is the largest pterosaur to cross the skies of the South American Cretaceous discovered to date.”
They said the discovery would allow scientists to “expand knowledge about the anatomy of this diverse group of pterosaurs.”
The study was published in the journal Cretaceous Research.
The researchers wrote in their article that Thanatosdrakon “is the largest pterosaur to cross the skies of the South American Cretaceous discovered to date.”
A team of paleontologists has discovered fossils of the newly minted Thanatosdrakon amaru in the Andes Mountains in the western Argentine province of Mendoza.
PTEROSAURES WERE FLYING REPTILES LIVING IN THE JURASSIC AND Cretaceous
Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles that dominated the skies during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Scientists have long debated where pterosaurs fit into the evolutionary tree.
The main theory today is that pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and crocodiles are closely related and belong to a group known as arcosaurs, but this is not yet confirmed.
Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles that dominated the skies during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (artist print in photo)
Pterosaurs evolved into dozens of species. Some were as big as an F-16 fighter jet, and some as small as a sparrow.
They were the first animals after insects to develop motorized flight, not only by jumping or gliding, but by flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air.
Pterosaurs had hollow bones, large brains with well-developed optical lobes, and several ridges on the bones to which the flight muscles attach.