SYDNEY, May 31 (Xinhua) — Scientists on Wednesday announced the examination of two small, 107-million-year-old fossils that belonged to giant flying reptiles. which once flew in the middle of the Australian sky The fossil was discovered in Victoria in the 1980s, but researchers have only recently been able to confirm its origin.
The study, published Tuesday (May 30) in the journal Historical Biology, suggests researchers from Curtin University. Australian Museum of Natural History of the Age of Dinosaurs Monash University and the Victoria Museum Research Institute. Confirmed that the fossil belonged to Pterosaurs, the earliest vertebrates that evolved flight.
The report identified the fossil as a pelvic bone and a bone from the left wing. Both of these bones are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. while pterosaurs are flying reptiles Which lived with dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, with both bones being the oldest ever discovered in Australia.
Adele Pentland, lead researcher and PhD student at Curtin University. Said pterosaurs are rare animals around the world. Few remains have been found in the formerly high elevation of Victoria. Thus, these bones help us better assuming the habitat and size of pterosaurs.
Pentland added that analysis of these bones confirms the existence of Australia’s first juvenile pterosaur. which used to live in the forests of Victoria about 107 million years ago
Pentland suggests that during the Cretaceous period (145-66 million years ago), Australia was more southern than today. and Victoria stayed within the Arctic Circle shrouded in darkness for weeks during the winter. In spite of the harsh environment of the season But pterosaurs find a way to survive and thrive.
Tom Rich, co-author and senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Museums Research Institute of Victoria. Said it was gratifying to understand the origins of this fossil. Both fossils are the result of decades of efforts by more than 100 volunteers.
(Xinhua file photo: Sydney Opera House) Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2023)
