A new species of pterosaur has been discovered in Queensland's outback. It is said to have a seven-metre wingspan, 40 sharp teeth, a circular crown below its jaw, and is thought to be Australia's closest living relative to mythical dragons.This creature, which is believed to have lived 105m ago, is the largest known flying reptile of the Australian continent. It was described in a Monday article in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.Tim Richards, a University of Queensland PhD Candidat, led a research group from the Dinosaur Lab at UQs School of Biological Sciences in order to describe the specimen.Richards stated that researchers were able, by comparing a partial Jawbone with other pterosaur fossils to determine the specimen's proportions and establish that this was a completely new species.It had a skull that measured one metre in length, a pointed nose, proportionately long wings, and short hind legs. The fuzz was light and covered it with fuzz.Richards stated that it wasn't designed to eat broccoli. It would make magpie-swooping seem trivial. It would have been quite a sight. Its wingspan is only a few meters shorter than that of a hang glider.Thapunngaka Shawis seven-metre wingspan is three times shorter than that of hang gliders. Photograph by Tim Richards/University of QueenslandIts morphology suggests that it was adapted to a carnivorous lifestyle. Its teeth were likely designed to hold on to slippery fish.This animal belonged to an ancient group of pterosaurs called anhanguerians. They lived for over 200 years on every continent, and were highly specialised in their environment.It was given the scientific name Thapunngaka Shawi, a combination the Wanamara words for spears and mouths and the surname the person who discovered it.Len Shaw, a council worker, found the remains in Wanamara country near Richmond in north west Queensland in June 2011. He used his front loader to gently pour water onto the rock faces to distinguish bone from rock to search for fossils.Shaw was immediately struck by the sockets in his jaws and contacted Kronosaurus Korner, a local museum.Richards stated that pterosaur fossils are extremely rare because they are so well adapted for flight, their bones are only millimetres thick and hollow.Tim Richards, University of Queensland researcher, with a Thapunngaka Shawis jaw model. Photograph by Anjanette Hudson/The University of QueenslandPterosaurs dont preserve well, Richards said. These items were most likely lost to the sea upon death, and then eaten by the predatory creatures in the ocean. Many of these items would not have reached the seafloor to begin fossilization.Two-thirds of Queensland's area was covered by the Eromanga Sea, a shallow body water that extended beyond the Northern Territory border into New South Wales.You can describe it as: A dragon. A fuzzy dragon Steve Salisbury University of QueenslandSteve Salisbury was a coauthor and Richards' PhD supervisor. He said that the discovery was particularly significant because pterosaurs, which are distinct from dinosaurs, became extinct at end of Cretaceous and have no living relatives.Since they vanished, there has been nothing quite like them. Salisbury stated that it is exciting to discover new fossils of pterosaurs because we only have fossils.They lived alongside dinosaurs, and were a group reptiles that are related to dinosaurs. Although it flies like either a bird or bat, it is not one of those. It looks exactly like a dragon. A dragon. A fuzzy dragon.Researchers were able distinguish Thapunngaka Shawi as a new species despite only having the lower jaw of the animal to work with. Photo: University of QueenslandKailah Thorn (University of Western Australia Palaeontologist, curator of the Edward de Courcy-Clarke Earth Science Museum), who was not involved with the study, stated that this was the third species of Pterosaur to be named since 2007.Thorn stated that it is always exciting to find new pterosaur materials in Australia. Pterosaurs are more likely to be preserved than dinosaur bones because they have lighter, fragile bones that were designed for flight.The only thing the authors could work with was the animal's deep chin, front portion of its lower jaw and the corresponding comparative scale.
