Paleontologists have recently announced the discovery of a new species of quetzalcoatline azhdarchid pterosaur, Nipponopterus mifunensis, from the Late Cretaceous of Japan.
About Pterosaurs:
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that flourished during Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods of the Mesozoic Era(252.2 million to 66 million years ago).
They were not only the first reptiles capable of flight, but also the first vertebrates to fly, a feat they accomplished by using strong forelegs to launch their bodies into the air.
Both Pterosaurs and Dinosaurs are archosaurs, or “ruling reptiles,” a group to which birds and crocodiles belong.
It included the largest vertebrate ever known to fly: the late Cretaceous Quetzalcoatlus.
Features:
Pterosaurs are not closely related to either birds or bats and thus provide a classic example of convergent evolution.
Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin that was connected to the hand by an elongated fourth finger, not unlike the fleshy wings of bats.
Earlier species had long, fully-toothed jaws and long tails, while later forms had a highly reduced tail and some lacked teeth.
They often had long necks, which sometimes had throat pouchessimilar to pelicans' for catching fish.
They went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, around 65.5 million years ago, during the mass extinction known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event(K-T extinction event).
When they disappeared, their role as the dominant vertebrates in the skies was taken over by the birds, which are considered to be of dinosaur ancestry.
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