Australia ’s New wildlife , and evenplants , may be notorious fortrying to kill youbut they really have nothing on the monsters of its past times . The recent addition to this list is apterosaurwith a suspected 7 - meter ( 23 - foot ) wingspan . Given thepreliminary natureof research into Australia ’s dinosaur - era fossils , the finding suggests there could be even cock-a-hoop beasts to come .
NamedThapunngaka shawiin theJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology , the pterosaur species was discovered in North West Queensland and date to around 110 million years ago . psychoanalysis was pass by University of Queensland PhD studentTim Richards .
“ It ’s the closest matter we have to a real life-time dragon , ” Richards say in astatement , bring it “ would have been a fearsome beast , with a spear - similar mouth and a wingspread around seven metres . It was basically just a skull with a long neck , bolted on a yoke of long wings . ”
T. shawilived on the shores of Queensland ’s no - long - existentEromanga Sea . It is thought to have fed both on fish from the ocean , which its meter - long toothy skull develop to grasp , but may have also consume little acres - living creatures . “ It would have throw off a great shadow over some quivering little dinosaur that would n’t have pick up it until it was too late , ” Richards order .
FindingT. Shawiwas something of a miracle . Australia ’s geologic history has kept fossil deposits from the Mesozoiclargely hiddenfrom human eyes , rather than impart them to the control surface as is widespread on other Continent . In increase , the thin - walled , hollow bones that allowed flying reptile to become the first fly craniate are particularly poorly - suitable to fossilise , making pterosaur fossils scarce even under more worthy conditions . Moreover , the least - worst places for dinosaur - earned run average fossil hunting in Australia are exceptionally sparsely populated today , reducing fossil - hunting eyes .
Against all that , the front portion of a submaxilla ( down jaw ) was found by amateurish dodo hunter Len Shaw , after whom the creature was named , in a quarry near Richmond that has provided some of Australia ’s dependable marine Cretaceous fossils .
ineluctably , however , most of the skeleton in the closet is missing , including the upper jaw . The piece found is distinguished by an enormous bony crest , whichDr Steve Salisbury , Richards ’s supervisory program , explained“[p]robably played a function in the escape dynamics of these creatures . ” Salisbury added to IFLScience that other flying reptile had “ quite harmonious ” jaw – if the lower jaw had a crown so did the upper one .
Despite information being limited to part of a single ivory , Richards and Salisbury identifiedT. shawias the third known , and easily large , anhanguerian flying reptile found in Australia . The jaw was so enormousT. shawiwould have required a 6 - 7 cadence wingspan ( 20 - 23 invertebrate foot ) to oppose it , making it the third - largest anhanguerian flying reptile anywhere in the earth .
The group of pterosaurs live as anhanguerians was a major presence in the Cretaceous sky worldwide , particularly in the lead up to theChicxulub catastrophe , although they did not reach the in truth gargantuan proportions of theazhdarchoid pterosaur . Like other Australian anhanguerian finds , withrare elision , T. shawicomes from the early Cretaceous . Salisbury told IFLScience this is because “ We have very few upper cretaceous deposit at all . I ’m trusted [ anhanguerians ] were around . ”
“ The genus name , Thapunngaka , incorporates thapun [ ta - boon ] and ngaka [ nga - ga ] , the Wanamara word of honor for ‘ fizgig ’ and ‘ oral cavity ’ , respectively , ” Salisbury enjoin . The jaw is now on show at Kronosaurus Korner , part of the trail of museums through westerly Queensland dedicated to Australia ’s dinosaur - era discoveries .
