A newly discovered pterosaur with a seven-meter wingspan and a mouth full of fangs would have ruled the sky over Australia's northeast approximately 110 million years ago.It is the largest known species of pterosaur to be found on the continent. This important discovery contributes greatly to our understanding of Australian pterosaur diversity. It would have been completely metal.Tim Richards, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland in Australia said that "it's the closest thing to a real-life dragon."Thapunngaka Shawi, the new pterosaur that we named Thapunngaka, was a formidable beast with a spear-like jaw and a wingspan of seven meters (23 feet). The skull was basically a skull with a long neck and bolted to a pair long wings."This thing would've been quite savage. It would have been a shadow on a small, quivering dinosaur who wouldn't have heard until it was too late.Hypothetical outline for Thapunngaka Shawi. (Tim Richards)The remains of Pterosaurs in Australia are very rare. Their bones, which were optimized for flight, were hollow and brittle. Very few of them have survived to this day. Only 20 specimens have been identified from the continent and only three of them were named before T. Shawi.A group of pterosaurs known as the anhanguerians, which hails from Queensland's northeastern region, comprised only two Australian pterosaurs. T. Shawi is the third anhanguerian from Australia, and it's also from Queensland.The description of the pterosaur is based on a fragment from its lower jaw and information we have about other anhanguerian pterosaurs. It was named after Len Shaw, the fossicker who found it. The name also incorporates words from Wanamara Nation, the language spoken by the First Nations people who lived in the area."The genus Thapunngaka incorporates thapun [taboon] as well as ngaka[nga-ga], which are Wanamara words that translate the Wanamara words for ‘spear’ and ‘mouth’," stated Steve Salisbury, University of Queensland paleontologist.Reconstruction of T. shawi's skull. (Tim Richards)The reconstruction of T. shawi's skull shows that it was approximately a meter (3.3 feet) long and had around 40 teeth. The beast would have soared above the Eromanga River, which once dominated eastern Australia. It used its powerful jaw to pull fish out of the water.Researchers discovered a bony crest at the bottom of the jaw that was particularly interesting. According to what we know about anhanguerians the animal had a similar crest on its top jaw.Salisbury stated that these crests likely played a role during flight dynamics of the creatures. Future research may provide more concrete answers.Researchers derived the size of the pterosaur from this crest. It is the largest known mandibular crown from anhanguerians. T. shawi, if their estimates are correct, would be the largest known anhanguerian pterosaur.These similarities suggest that Australian pterosaurs were larger than contemporaneous species on other continents. The anatomical similarities of T. shawi's jawbone and other Australian pterosaurs' jawbones suggest that there was a local pterosaur speciation around the Eromanga.Richards stated, "It's quite remarkable fossils of these animal exist at all.""While the Australian pterosaur record may be poor by international standards, Thapunngaka's discovery greatly enhances our understanding of Australian species diversity."The journal Vertebrate Paleontology published the research.
