North America’s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a “small seagull,” discovered in Arizona, researchers say

For pelioneutologist Ben Cligman, the question was: Is this delicate jaw a perosa or not?

Other researchers also had questions about fossils, with thousands of others on a remote bone bed during archaeological excavations for a long time for a long time. Petridified Forest National Park In Arizona. Some thought that the bone could be a mammal, Cligmanman told CBS News.

Now, his new research provides insight into North America’s oldest known flying reptiles that Cligmanain and other peliytologists say that the size of “small seagle” was.

Smithsonian -led paper, Published on Monday In the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal, description of new pterosaur fossil discovery with many others, providing insight into the late tricycic period.

Cligmanman remembers looking at the jaw under a microscope in Smithsonian – where he is one Peter Buck PostDoctor Fellow And where the fossils were sent – and the anatomy of the trichic jaw was running through its “rollodex”, thinking that the species could have uniform jaws. He wanted to solve the mystery where there was a delicate jaw.

Through the process of elimination, and thinking about the characteristics that Pterosaurs have no other animal, Klimman said that he and other researchers were able to conclude that, “Oh yes, this is definitely a pterosaur – so, this is a very important discovery.”

The team named Pterosaur eotephradactylus Mcintireae, which means “Ash-Winged Don Devi.” The name of the species referred to his explorer, Suzanne McIntair, who voluntarily worked in Smithsonian Fossil For 18 years.

Mcintire discovered pterosaur fossils, which was brought to the museum from the Petridified Forest National Park, including 1,200 other individual fossils, bones, teeth, fish scales and coopolites, or fossil enthusiasts.

Volunteers clean each fossil cleanly, do flags of interest and other fossil protection functions. Mcintire revealed the jaw and saw that the teeth were still in the bone, making it easier to identify.

Winged reptiles – A close cousin of dinosaurs and First animal After insects to develop the operated flight – a person would be quite small to relax comfortably on his shoulder.

“It could have been sitting on your shoulder, like a small seagel,” Climman said of the species.

Researchers were able to dating the fossil back 209.2 million years ago – an unusually accurate date, Cligmann said, where the fossils were found due to the level of volcanic ash. This discovery helps to fill a gap in fossil records that are before the end-trisic extinct, he said. Very few pterosaur fossils are present, KLIGMAN said. After their extinction, their delicate bones were poorly preserved, so Perosaur fossils are often incomplete. They did not either Stay close In places where fossils are formed.

“This helps us understand what a pterosaur was and how they became, how they would become,” Cligmann said.

Along with Pterosaur, the study also expanded other findings, including one of the oldest turtle fossils in the world, giant amphibians and armored crocodile relatives, who lived with evolutionary upstarts such as frogs, turtles, and pterosaurs.