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Prehistoric winged lizard unearthed in Chile
Fossils of the dinosaur which lived some 160 million years ago in what is today the Atacama desert, were unearthed in 2009.
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This undated handout photo received April 14, 2021 shows a pterosaur vertebra showing the bicycle wheel-like spoke arrangement. Azhdarchid pterosaurs were massive flying reptiles that soared the skies in the age of the dinosaurs, using their long bills to pick out their prey of river animals. One of the most intriguing things about them has been the extreme length of their necks -- estimated at up to three meters (10 feet), which is longer than a giraffe's and raised questions about how the animals could support its weight. (AFP/University of Portsmouth)
C
hilean scientists have announced the discovery of the first-ever southern hemisphere remains of a type of Jurassic-era "winged lizard" known as a pterosaur.
Fossils of the dinosaur which lived some 160 million years ago in what is today the Atacama desert, were unearthed in 2009.
They have now been confirmed to be of a rhamphorhynchine pterosaur -- the first such creature to be found in Gondwana, the prehistoric supercontinent that later formed the southern hemisphere landmasses.
Researcher Jhonatan Alarcon of the University of Chile said the creatures had a wingspan of up to two meters, a long tail, and pointed snout.
Read also: New Patagonian dinosaur may be largest yet: scientists
"We show that the distribution of animals in this group was wider than known to date," he added.
The discovery was also "the oldest known pterosaur found in Chile," the scientists reported in the scientific journal Acta Paleontologica Polonic.
