Fossils found Down Under identified as new species of flying dinosaur

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Fossilized bones found in Australia have been identified as a new species of flying dinosaur .

The "fearsome" predator lived around 100 million years ago and had a 15-foot wingspan, say scientists.

The bones, unearthed in western Queensland by museum creator Kevin Petersen in 2021, have been found to belong to a newly identified species of pterosaur, dubbed Haliskia peterseni.

A research team led by PhD student Adele Pentland, of Curtin University in Australia, identified the specimen as an anhanguerian, based on the shape of its skull, arrangement of teeth and shape of the shoulder bone.

Anhanguerians were a group of pterosaurs known to have lived all over the world, including in what is now England, Brazil, Morocco, China, Spain and the United States.

Pentland said: “With a wingspan of approximately 4.6 meters, Haliskia would have been a fearsome predator around 100 million years ago when much of central western Queensland was underwater, covered by a vast inland sea and globally positioned about where Victoria’s southern coastline is today.

“Careful preparation by Petersen has provided the remains of the most complete specimen of an anhanguerian, and of any pterosaur, discovered in Australia to date.

“Haliskia is 22 percent complete, making it more than twice as complete as the only other known partial pterosaur skeleton found in Australia."

She added: “The specimen includes complete lower jaws, the tip of the upper jaw, 43 teeth, vertebrae, ribs, bones from both wings and part of a leg.

"Also present are very thin and delicate throat bones, indicating a muscular tongue, which helped during feeding on fish and cephalopods.”

Haliskia peterseni joins several marine fossil specimens on display at the Kronosaurus Korner Museum in Queensland where Petersen is curator.

He said the latest discovery was an "exciting" boost for science, education and regional tourism, adding: “I’m thrilled that my discovery is a new species, as my passion lies in helping shape our modern knowledge of prehistoric species."

The find was reported in the journal Scientific Reports .

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