Latest news with #SuzanneMcIntire
NDTV
2 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
Scientists Find 200 Million-Year-Old Flying Reptile Species
Scientists have found a new species of pterosaur that lived 200 million years ago along with the dinosaurs. The fossilised jawbone of the creature was unearthed by scientists at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in 2011. They have now identified the fossil as the oldest known species of the pterosaur in North America. The scientists have named the pterosaur, Eotephradactylus mcintireae, which means "ash-winged dawn goddess," referring to the volcanic ash that helped preserve its bones. The name also honours volunteer Suzanne McIntire, who discovered the jawbone. "What was exciting about uncovering this specimen was that the teeth were still in the bone, so I knew the animal would be much easier to identify," McIntire said as quoted by The Independent. The pterosaur is approximately 209 million years old, dating back to the late Triassic period, and was found in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Modern micro-CT scanning helped scientists to learn anatomical traits unique to pterosaurs, which confirmed that it was a new species. Eotephradactylus mcintireae was about the size of a small seagull, with winged reptiles likely feeding on armoured fish, as indicated by the heavy wear on its preserved teeth. This discovery fills a gap in the sparse Triassic pterosaur record, providing fresh insight into early powered flight and suggesting that similar Triassic rock deposits worldwide may contain pterosaur fossils. "The bones of Triassic pterosaurs are small, thin, and often hollow, so they get destroyed before they get fossilised," palaeontologist Ben Kligman of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington told BBC. "Our ability to recognise pterosaur bones in [these ancient] river deposits suggests there may be other similar deposits from Triassic rocks around the world that may also preserve pterosaur bones."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
New species of flying reptile that lived among dinosaurs 200 million years ago discovered
Researchers have discovered a new species of pterosaur - a winged reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs 200 million years ago. Scientists at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History uncovered the fossilised jawbone of the creature in 2011, and have now identified it to be the oldest known species of pterosaur in North America. Unearthed at a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, its jawbone was preserved in volcanic ash 209 million years ago. The new species would have been small enough to comfortably perch on a person's shoulder. The remarkable fossil was unearthed by Suzanne McIntire, who volunteered in the museum's FossiLab for 18 years. 'What was exciting about uncovering this specimen was that the teeth were still in the bone, so I knew the animal would be much easier to identify,' McIntire said. Because the tips of the teeth were worn down, the team concluded that the pterosaur likely fed on the site's fish, many of which were encased in armor-like scales. The team named the new pterosaur species Eotephradactylus mcintireae. The name means 'ash-winged dawn goddess' and references the site's volcanic ash where the fossil was found. This part of northeastern Arizona was positioned in the middle of Pangaea and sat just above the equator 209 million years ago. The area was crisscrossed by small river channels and likely prone to seasonal floods - these floods washed sediment and volcanic ash into the channels and likely buried the creatures preserved in the bonebed. In total, the team has uncovered more than 1,200 individual fossils, including bones, teeth, fish scales and coprolites, or fossilised faeces. The researchers also described the fossils of an ancient turtle with spike-like armor and a shell that could fit inside a shoebox. This tortoise-like animal lived around the same time as the oldest known turtle, whose fossils were previously uncovered in Germany. 'This suggests that turtles rapidly dispersed across Pangaea, which is surprising for an animal that is not very large and is likely walking at a slow pace,' Kligman said.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
New species of flying reptile that lived among dinosaurs 200 million years ago discovered
Researchers have discovered a new species of pterosaur - a winged reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs 200 million years ago. Scientists at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History uncovered the fossilised jawbone of the creature in 2011, and have now identified it to be the oldest known species of pterosaur in North America. Unearthed at a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, its jawbone was preserved in volcanic ash 209 million years ago. The new species would have been small enough to comfortably perch on a person's shoulder. The remarkable fossil was unearthed by Suzanne McIntire, who volunteered in the museum's FossiLab for 18 years. 'What was exciting about uncovering this specimen was that the teeth were still in the bone, so I knew the animal would be much easier to identify,' McIntire said. Because the tips of the teeth were worn down, the team concluded that the pterosaur likely fed on the site's fish, many of which were encased in armor-like scales. The team named the new pterosaur species Eotephradactylus mcintireae. The name means 'ash-winged dawn goddess' and references the site's volcanic ash where the fossil was found. This part of northeastern Arizona was positioned in the middle of Pangaea and sat just above the equator 209 million years ago. The area was crisscrossed by small river channels and likely prone to seasonal floods - these floods washed sediment and volcanic ash into the channels and likely buried the creatures preserved in the bonebed. In total, the team has uncovered more than 1,200 individual fossils, including bones, teeth, fish scales and coprolites, or fossilised faeces. The researchers also described the fossils of an ancient turtle with spike-like armor and a shell that could fit inside a shoebox. This tortoise-like animal lived around the same time as the oldest known turtle, whose fossils were previously uncovered in Germany. 'This suggests that turtles rapidly dispersed across Pangaea, which is surprising for an animal that is not very large and is likely walking at a slow pace,' Kligman said.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Science
- Washington Post
North America's oldest pterosaur, a winged reptile, discovered in Arizona
At a remote bone bed in Arizona, dense with fossils dating back around 209 million years, a Smithsonian-led team of researchers has discovered North America's oldest known pterosaur, according to a news release. Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to develop powered flight, soaring above dinosaurs and other surreal creatures that called the prehistoric world home. The finding, detailed in an article in PNAS published Monday, offers clues to the evolution of the winged reptiles, which have more than 150 named species, including the Hollywood favorite — the pterodactyl. Before the study, there were only two known Triassic pterosaurs from North America, Ben Kligman, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and an author on the study, said in an email. This the only early pterosaur globally whose precise age has been determined — 209.2 million years old — information that is crucial to understanding 'how a fossil animal fits into patterns of evolutionary and environmental change,' he said. Suzanne McIntire, formerly a volunteer with the museum, unearthed the fossil. 'What was exciting about uncovering this specimen was that the teeth were still in the bone, so I knew the animal would be much easier to identify,' she said in a statement. The pterosaur's jaw holds worn-down teeth, suggesting it ate fish with armored scales, and the creature 'would have been small enough to comfortably perch on a person's shoulder,' according to the release. Call the new species the 'ash-winged dawn goddess,' as the team has named it, or a small nightmare, as anyone imagining a winged reptile on their shoulder might. Regardless, it's a noteworthy discovery from the Petrified Forest National Park site, from which teams at the museum have uncovered more than 1,200 individual fossils, including fish scales, teeth and fossilized poop. The fossils offer a window into a vibrant, bygone ecosystem, where animals such as giant amphibians, some up to six feet long, and armored crocodile relatives lived among 'evolutionary upstarts' such as frogs, turtles and pterosaurs. 'Fossil beds like these enable us to establish that all of these animals actually lived together,' Kligman said. Among the findings was an ancient turtle 'with spike-like armor and a shell that could fit inside a shoebox,' the news release says. It's believed to have lived around the same time as the oldest known turtle, suggesting the creatures spread across the supercontinent Pangaea quickly. 'Surprising for an animal that is not very large and is likely walking at a slow pace,' Kligman noted. Contrary to common belief, pterosaurs are not dinosaurs — their name comes from 'winged lizard' in Greek. Some were the size of paper airplanes while others were as big as fighter jets and feasted on baby dinosaurs. They went extinct around 66 million years ago. The early evolution of pterosaurs is something of a mystery as they appeared in the fossil record some 215 million years ago with fully evolved wings, Kligman noted. Bones of pterosaurs from the Triassic era, about 251.9 to 201.3 million years ago, are also small, thin and often hollow, so they are easily destroyed before fossilization. Scientists have named the newly discovered pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae. The genus name, Eotephradactylus, refers to Eos, the goddess of dawn; tephra translates to ash, and dactyl refers to the fingerlike wings — referencing volcanic ash at the site of its discovery and the animals' position near the base of the pterosaur's evolutionary tree. The species name is a callback to its discoverer, McIntire. The unearthed fossil is 'one of the only early pterosaurs whose anatomy can be observed in a detailed way in three dimensions,' Kligman said. Its teeth are especially noteworthy as they're fused into the socket, a feature shared with small, slender Triassic reptiles known as lagerpetids, a group which some hypothesize may be closely related to pterosaurs. Kligman called the setting of the finding, which he described as 'a river system flowing through the arid sub-tropical floodplains of central Pangaea,' unusual for early pterosaurs, and said there may be similar river deposits from other Triassic rocks that can also preserve pterosaur bones. He said they hope 'this creates a new search-image for filling gaps in the early evolution of pterosaurs.'
