MELBOURNE – Paleontologists have unearthed Australia’s largest ‘dragon-like’ reptile, which is reportedly dating back 100 million years, in northwest Queensland.
The flying beast, which is said to have a seven-meter wingspan, is a new species of pterosaur [flying reptiles of the extinct clade or order Pterosauria] discovered in outback Queensland is being termed as the ‘closest thing to a dragon’. Researchers have given it the scientific name Thapunngaka shawi.
The name was chosen to pay tribute to the First Nations people of the Richmond area where the fossil was found and the now-extinct language of the Wanamara Nation.
Earlier in 2011, it was discovered in northwest Queensland by fossicker Len Shaw. Despite the finding of the fossil over a decade ago, scientists weren’t able to prove it as a new species until now. According to a report, there are over 200 species of pterosaur- from the 16-foot-tall to the sparrow-sized.
The reptile, thought to have lived 105 million years ago, has been described for the first time by Tim Richards – a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland. Richards led a research team from the Dinosaur Lab in varsity’s School of Biological Sciences to describe the specimen. It belonged to a group of pterosaurs known as anhanguerians, which thrived for 200 million years, lived on every continent.
Comparing a partial jawbone with other pterosaur fossils, Richard said ‘it was an entirely new species which had a one-meter-long skull, long wings, short hind legs with no tail.
The researcher while explaining its morphology said ‘the reptile adapted for a carnivorous lifestyle as Its 40 razor-sharp teeth were designed for holding on to land animals or slippery fish’. They were the first vertebrates to master flight, flying above the dinosaur at that time.
With an estimated seven-meter wingspan, 40 razor-sharp teeth, a circular crest below its jaw, and no living relatives, a new species of pterosaur discovered in outback Queensland is being touted as the closest thing Australia ever had to a mythical dragon.
Furthermore, the Australian university scholar while speaking with a leading daily said ‘the reptile of these groups don’t preserve well as most of these fell into the sea on death and were gobbled up by predatory beasts in the sea’.
Earlier in July, researchers from Britain revealed that baby pterosaurs can fly within hours or minutes of hatching from their eggs. Let it be known that the recent discovery marks the third species of pterosaur known to science.
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