Chile: they identified the remains of a pterosaur, the Jurassic “flying dragon”

A team of Chilean scientists have first identified the fossil remains of a pterosaur in the Atacama Desert, a flying dragon who inhabited this region in the north of the country during the Jurassic period, around 160 million years ago, the University of Chile reported on Friday.

During an expedition in 2009 in the town of Cerritos Bayos, About 30 km from the city of Calama, in the middle of the Atacama Desert, the group of researchers from the University of Chile discovered very well-preserved fossil remains of an unknown species, that it could be a prehistoric marine animal from the Jurassic period, said a statement from the University of Chile.

But subsequent analysis determined that it was a pterosaur close to the adult stage, belonging to the Ramphorhynchinae subfamily, including a left humerus, a possible dorsal vertebra and two fragments of a phalanx of the wing were found, all preserved in three dimensions.

The discovery of the fossil was published this week in the quarterly scientific journal. Acta Paleontológica Polonica, edited by the Institute of Paleobiology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

These “enigmatic winged dragons” were characterized by a wingspan of up to two meters, explained Jhonatan Alarcon, scientist in the Paleontological Network of this university, and who led the studies of pterosaur fossils.

Besides, “They were characterized by a very elongated tail and a particular diamond-shaped tip. They also had low heads, a long muzzle, and pointed teeth forward. “added.

These remains are the first of their kind found in the southern hemisphere, especially in the territories of the former mega continent. Gondwana which existed some 550 million years and consisted of territories such as South America, Antarctica, Africa, Madagascar, India and Australia and Laurasia, mainly made up of North America, Asia and Europe.

“All the discoveries of the Rhamphorhynchinae subfamily come mainly from the northern hemisphere, mainly from Europe. With this, we show that the distribution of animals in this group was wider than what was known until now ”, Alarcon explained.

Cerritos Bayos has been an area of ​​important paleontological discoveries. This same team discovered in 2020 plesiosaurs of the genera Muraenosaurus and Vinialesaurus, as well as the first remains of pliosaurs (parents of plesiosaurs, but with large skulls and short necks), according to the University of Chile.

(With information from AFP)

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