It’sbeen saidthat azhdarchid pterosaurs , which canonly be describedas bird - reptile - dinosaur - esque - things , were the largest flying fauna . These giant fauna — which roamed the Earth during theCretaceous periodroughly 66.5 million years ago — were reptilian but not in reality dinosaur . Despite being winged , they were n’t razzing , either .
For obvious reasons , scientist have had a difficult time figuring how to relegate pterosaurs . While the off-white of pterosaurshave been found many times before , a lack of firm grounds has kept the hideous creature ’s lineage shrouded in mystery . But latterly , two researchers from the UK find a remarkable pair ofazhdarchid pterosaurfossils in the Transylvania part of Romania that could bring paleontologists one step closer to enter this shit out .
In their study , publishedin the journal Peer - J , Darren Naish and Mark P. Witton describe how the fossils they see — a kind of pterosaur calledHatzegopteryx — diverge from our “ conventional ” agreement of these creatures ’ proportions . Typically , azharchid pterosaurs , the largest of the pterosaur , are thought to have had unco long necks , which they presumptively stretch out down to reach for fish .
But Hatzegopteryx was a stone inhuman slayer . Its wide os and short , stocky cervix limn a dominant predator — not a ballerina shuttlecock - matter . Hatzegopteryx ’s wide mouth believably helped it catch its quarry the size of small sawbuck — or dinosaur — with ease .
“ This specimen is one of several hinting at smashing disparity within Azhdarchidae than antecedently consider , but is the first to demonstrate such proportional difference within elephantine taxa , ” the researcherswrote .
Hopefully , this newfangled research will aid paleontologists understand diversity within azhdarchid pterosaurs . “ The concept of shortsighted necked azhdarchids is yet to be explored in detail , despite the significance it has for our understanding of azhdarchid paleoecology and disparity , ” the investigator wrote .
At the very least , the new fossil find gives us one more reason to be well-chosen humankind were n’t around in the nightmarish populace of the late Cretaceous .
[ Peer ]
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