Science
Related: About this forumFossil of Flying Dino-Age Reptile Found
Source: Live Science
Fossil of Flying Dino-Age Reptile Found
by Megan Gannon, News Editor
Date: 04 February 2013 Time: 02:20 PM ET
Scientists say they've discovered the fossilized bones of a new type of pterosaur, a flying dinosaur-age reptile, which lived about 68 million years ago and had a wingspan of nearly 10 feet (3-meters).
The skeletal bits of the mid-sized pterosaur were found in Sebeş-Glod in Romania's Transylvanian Basin, famous for its rich array of Late Cretaceous fossils, including crocodylomorphs (ancient relatives of crocodiles), mammals, turtles and dinosaurs like the dwarf sauropod Magyarosaurus dacus and the dromaeosaur Balaur. Scientists dubbed the new reptile Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis and say it belonged to a group of pterosaurs called the azhdarchids.
Pterosaurs lived among the dinosaurs and became extinct about the same time, but they were not dinosaurs. They are sometimes wrongly called pterodactyls, which actually just describes the first genus of pterosaur discovered by scientists in the 18th century. Small pterosaurs developed during the Triassic Period, about 230 to 200 million years ago. Later, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, more advanced forms of the flying reptiles, like azhdarchids, started evolving.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.livescience.com/26835-fossil-of-flying-dino-age-reptile-found.html
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)lived forever, and slept in stone coffins.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)inasmuch they may not have been able to take off from flat ground at sea level by flapping their wings.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)It's been theorized that azhdarchids, while capable of flight, probably spent more time on the ground, acting like storks from hell;
And in case you're interested in scale...
?v=0
Soylent Brice
(8,308 posts)Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)How incredibly few species are represented in the fossil record. There is no reason why the world of the late cretaceous would have been less biologically diverse than the modern world, and look how much wild shit we've got going on!
Just imagine what must have existed, that we will never know about.
Soylent Brice
(8,308 posts)the amazing creatures that've roamed the earth. there's so much we still don't, and won't ever, know.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)One of those would keep the pigeons out my garden.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)What we call front and back garden you refer to as front and back yard. In this case I meant my back / rear garden which is shut off and secluded but easily accessed by the local pigeons as is the roof of my Victorian house too.