A newly discovered ancient flying reptile looks so much like a creature from a science fiction movie that it was named after fictional predators from a blockbuster film.
The pterosaur species, which was said to have lived about 120 million years ago, has been named the "Ikrandraco avatar" after the fictional creature called Ikran in the 2009 movie Avatar. The flying animal, which had blue crests under its chin, similar to the creature in the movie, was said to have been able to scoop fish off lakes the way pelicans do.
"Ikrandraco avatar is diagnosed by a suite of features, including a very low and elongate skull, strongly inclined quadrate, and a deep, blade-like bony mandibular crest with a hook-like process on its posterior edge, an unusual structure so far unique to this taxon," the researchers revealed in their findings, which were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
"The particular skull shape hints at a distinct feeding habit for pterosaurs that potentially includes temporary skimming and an extensible skin acting as a throat pouch that was more developed than in any other pterosaur known so far."
Pterosaurs are Mesozoic reptiles. Such creatures lived during the Mesozoic era, which dates back from 66 million to 252 million years ago. The Ikandranco avatar species was said to be different from other pterosaurs because of its distinct cranium and mandible. The creature has a low and elongated crestless skull that is connected to a lower jaw with a crest on the dantary area that ends at a hook-shaped posterior part. Since the Ikrandraco's morphological features are unique compared to other pterosaurs, scientists suspect that the animal has a unique way of foraging for food.
"These are spectacular new fossil specimens," Richard Butler, a paleontologist from the UK's University of Birmingham, told National Geographic. Butler added that the discovery may be evidence of diversity among flying reptiles in China. The team behind the find suggests that the hook-shaped posterior may be the attachment for a throat pouch. However, Butler, citing findings from PLOS Biology, said that feeding by skimming was likely impossible for pterosaurs.
Nonetheless, scientists are planning to conduct experiments to find out whether the creature's lower jaw supported a throat pouch. The research authors came from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo in Brazil and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China.
