Big head, long neck, short tail: researchers have discovered a new species of pterosaur in Bavaria. The animal’s remains are said to be unusually well preserved and will provide important insights into the evolution of pterosaurs.
The new species was given the scientific name Skiphosoura bavarica – or ‘Bavaria Swordtail’ – because of its short, pointed tail, as the team led by paleontologist David Hone of London’s Queen Mary University explains in the journal ‘Current Biology’.
Newly discovered dinosaur species are closing the gap
What’s special: The specimen of Skiphosoura bavarica is unusually large for the Jurassic period and has been preserved in three dimensions. First author David Hone speaks of an “incredible find” that he investigated and described in 2022. “It helps us figure out how these amazing flying animals lived and evolved.” There was a big divide for a long time.
According to the Natural History Museum in Berlin, pterosaurs lived from 200 to 65 million years ago. In the Jurassic period, flying reptiles were quite small; in the Cretaceous period they reached enormous sizes, sometimes with a wingspan of ten meters. According to the research, the new species was discovered in 2015 in a limestone quarry near Solnhofen in Bavaria – there had previously been other important pterosaur finds in the region.
According to the study authors, paleontology had long divided pterosaurs into two main groups: the early species had short heads and necks, a long fifth toe and a long tail. In the later, much larger specimens it was exactly the opposite: they had large heads, long necks, a short fifth toe and short tails. But for a long time it was not clear how these physical characteristics changed over time.
According to co-author and taxidermist Stefan Selzer, Skiphosoura showed characteristics of both main groups. According to the study, the species and other previously found intermediate species show how pterosaurs gradually changed.
Provides important insights into evolution
“Skiphosoura represents an important new avenue for investigating the evolutionary relationships among pterosaurs and how these lineages emerged and changed,” explains co-author Adam Fitch of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Source: Krone
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