The Pterosaurs were the flying reptiles of the dinosaur era and died out at the end of the Cretaceous extinction event. They dominated the skies for more than 160 million years.
The name Pterodactylus comes from the famous Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. The fossil was originally thought to be an aquatic animal for 25 years before it was discovered to be a flying reptile.
Painten is a small town in the southern part of the Alb in central Germany. The fossil is a million years older than other Pterodactylus fossils.
The specimen was found in a quarry in the year 2014). The researchers needed more than 120 hours of mechanical work to study it. The research team behind the discovery are from the University of Tbingen and the Dinosaurier Museum Altmhltal.
Felix Augustin of the University of Tbingen is the lead on the discovery of the new Pterodactylus specimen. The Tithonian stage that follows after the Kimmeridgian is where Pterodactylus was found previously.
The specimen is a complete skeleton of a small person. There is only a small part of the left mandible that is missing. The skeleton is almost completely preserved with every bone present and in its correct position, according to the researchers.
The Painten Pterodactylus has a skull that is 5 cm long.
The Pterodactylus specimens fall into distinct size-classes that are separated by marked gaps. Augustin says that the specimen from Painten is a rare representation of the first gap between small and large.
Between two consecutive year-classes, the Painten Pterodactylus was rare to find ontogenetic age at the time of its death.
Ichthyosaurs, turtles, marine and terrestrial crocodile-s, and dinosaurs have been found at the Painten quarry. There are many of them on display at the Dinosaurier Museum Altmhltal.
The geologically oldest specimen of Pterodactylus was found in the Painten deposits of Germany. There is a DOI titled "10.897/fr.25.90692".
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