BUENOS AIRES – Species pterosaurus largest in South America, researchers found fossils Argentina in the Plottier Formation, Mendoza province. Thanatosdrakon, nicknamed the Dragon of Death, is the largest pterosaur ever found in South America.
The wingspans of the two specimens were about 7 meters long and 9 meters wide, respectively. The researchers confirmed that they were azhdarchids, a family of pterosaurs that lived at the end of the Cretaceous period (about 146 million to 66 million years ago).
“Azhdarchids are known for their very large skulls, sometimes larger than their bodies. They have very long necks and short and strong bodies,” Leonardo D Ortiz David, from the Argentine Dinosaur Laboratory and Museum in Mendoza, told Live Science quoted by SINDOnews, Thursday (26/5/2022).
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The scientists identified the pterosaurs as two individuals within the species Thanatosdrakon amaru. It is the only species in the genus, meaning Death Dragon, in Greek. The species name, Amaru translates as Flying Snake from the Quechuan language, which refers to Amaru, the two-headed Inca god.
The researchers determined that both pterosaurs died at the same time and that one had not yet fully grown. But scientists can’t say for sure whether the two animals are part of the family group.
“There is no indication in the fossil remains of the degree of familial ties. However, it is certain that the two specimens were of different sizes, and the smaller one was juvenile-subadult, and they were together when they died more than 86 million years ago,” said Ortiz David.
Read also; Archeologists Find Dinosaur Fossils That Lived 140 Million Years Ago
The fossils were found during excavations for a civil construction project about 800 kilometers outside the capital Mendoza. Ortiz David and his team were supervising the excavations when they discovered fossil fragments in floodplain deposits.
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