Paleontologists in Argentina discovered “The Dragon of Death,” a petrified flying reptile, on May 23. The dinosaur, which lived 86 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, had a body length similar to that of a conventional bus, according to the experts.
In the early days of the pterosaur era, the reptile was one of the first to utilize its wings for hunting. Having wings that spanned nine meters, the monster was as tall as a giraffe and had two enormous wings. Scientists, on the other hand, believe that despite its large wings, the reptile ended up spending very little time in the air. Although its wingspan seems to defy our biological knowledge, the study’s main researcher, Leonardo Ortiz, declared as much in a press release. They will report their findings in Cretaceous Research in the September issue, as the fossil’s enormous bones designate it as South America’s biggest pterosaur and one of the world’s largest.
Paleontologists found bones from two specimens. Scientists discovered that both pterosaurs perished at the same time and that one of them had not yet reached adulthood. It’s possible that the two species are members of the same family, but scientists can’t be sure.
What do we know about the creature?
Researchers also noted that, despite the fact that little is known about this creature’s existence, it lived in big groups. Prior to the extinction of dinosaurs, this pterosaur species seems to have been around for roughly 20 million years. 66 million years ago, an asteroid with an approximate diameter of around 12 kilometers struck the Earth, resulting in the extinction of 75 percent of all creatures on the planet at the time.
The fossil was discovered in Argentina’s western province of Mendoza, high in the Andes. A new genus and species had to be created because of its unique traits, which are not seen in any other fossils thus far. Because of this, it was given the name Thanatosdrakon amaru.
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