A new research paper published by PLOS ONE journal revealed the scientific discovery of new interesting species of pterosaur called Caiuajara dobruskii that survived during the Cretaceous period and may have the ability to fly at an early age.
Paulo Manzig of the Universidade do Contestado, Brazil and his colleagues found the bones of almost 50 winged reptiles representing the new species in a pterosaur bone bed in rocks from the Cretaceous period. The new species were believed to have lived in the suburbs of Cruzeiro do Oeste, southern Brazil.
“There are several interesting aspects of this discovery. So far, all other pterosaur material recorded from Brazil comes from the northeastern part of the country, and this is the first in the southern part,” the scientists wrote in the research.
The research disclosed that other than the Romualdo and Crato formations in Brazil, this kind of pterosaur was also recorded in Spain, Morocco and China.
The scientists said the bones were from young to adult reptiles with wings ranging from 0.65 to 2.35m. Many features of its head vary from the other members of this clade, such as the strange bony expansion that project inside the big skull opening in front of the eyes as well as the rounded depressions seen in the outer surface of its jaw.
Both young and adult reptiles primarily differ in the angle and size of the bony crest found on the top of their head. For the younger ones, the bony crest looked inclined and small, while the adult ones have steep and large crests.
From an analysis of the hundreds of bones found, the scientists said these winged reptiles were gregarious, existed in colonies such as inland lake in a desert and possibly have the ability to fly at a very young age.
“The causes of death remain unknown, although similarities with dinosaur drought-related mortality are striking. However, it is also possible that desert storms could have been responsible for the occasional demise of these pterosaurs,” concluded the research.
Manzig’s colleagues were from the Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa and Universidade Federal do Paraná.
The research paper titled “Discovery of a Rare Pterosaur Bone Bed in a Cretaceous Desert with Insights on Ontogeny and Behavior of Flying Reptiles” was published on Aug. 13 and can be viewed through this link.
