The discovery of new fossils suggests that 86 million years ago, 86 million years ago, giant dragons flew around the Earth next to dinosaurs.
Argentine scientists have discovered a new species of flying reptile as long as a school bus known as “The Dragon of Death”.
A study published online in April detailed the findings in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research.
A reconstruction of the pterosaur – and the accompanying images on social media – shown in Mendoza, Argentina, recently drew attention to the study. The pterosaur, also known as Thanatosdrakon amaru, is believed to have preceded birds as the first winged creatures to hunt their prey. “Death Dragon” is a combination of Greek words for death (Thanatos) and dragon (drakon).
Argentine paleontologists have discovered fossils of a new species of pterosaur called “The Dragon of Death”.
“The remains of Thanatosdrakon have different features that allow us to differentiate them from other known pterosaurs,” project leader Leonardo Ortiz told USA TODAY. “Basically, these characteristics are found in the vertebrae and limbs. This allowed us to establish a new species of pterosaur.”
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A team of paleontologists found the fossils in the mountains of the Andes in the western Argentine province of Mendoza, and noted that the rocks preserved the remains of the reptile, which date back 86 million years. Cretaceous period, according to the study. That’s 20 million years before the impact of an asteroid destroyed three-quarters of life on Earth.
The team also ranked the pterosaur fossil as the largest discovered in South America and one of the largest in the world.
Although scientists have placed pterosaurs in the same category as birds for their ability to fly, they are difficult to classify because they were cold-blooded predators. They had no rivals in the sky, so it is believed that pterosaurs dominated all continents and evolved into different shapes and sizes.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: ‘Dragon of Death’ fossils of flying reptiles discovered in Argentina