New Curtin University-led research has identified 100-million-year-old fossilised bones discovered in western Queensland as belonging to a newly identified species of pterosaur, which was a formidable flying reptile that lived among the dinosaurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unearthed in 2021 by Kronosaurus Korner museum curator Kevin Petersen, the fossilised remains have been found to belong to Haliskia peterseni<\/em>, a new genus and species of anhanguerian pterosaur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on the shape of its skull, arrangement of teeth and shape of the shoulder bone, a research team led by PhD student Adele Pentland, from Curtin\u2019s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, identified the specimen as an anhanguerian, which is a group of pterosaurs known to have lived across the world, including in what is now Brazil, England, Morocco, China, Spain and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith a wingspan of approximately 4.6m, Haliskia<\/em> would have been a fearsome predator around 100 million years ago when much of central western Queensland was underwater, covered by a vast inland sea and globally positioned about where Victoria\u2019s southern coastline is today,\u201d Ms Pentland said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCareful preparation by Mr Petersen has provided the remains of the most complete specimen of an anhanguerian, and of any pterosaur, discovered in Australia to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaliskia<\/em> is 22 per cent complete, making it more than twice as complete as the only other known partial pterosaur skeleton found in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe specimen includes complete lower jaws, the tip of the upper jaw, 43 teeth, vertebrae, ribs, bones from both wings and part of a leg. Also present are very thin and delicate throat bones, indicating a muscular tongue, which helped during feeding on fish and cephalopods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Haliskia peterseni<\/em> joins several significant marine fossil specimens on display at Kronosaurus Korner, including Kronosaurus queenslandicus<\/em>, the largest marine reptile with a skull at least 2.4m long, the most complete plesiosaur from Australia and bones from the plesiosaur Eromangasaurus<\/em> and the ichthyosaur Platypterygius<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Petersen said this latest discovery was an exciting boost for science, education and regional tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m thrilled that my discovery is a new species, as my passion lies in helping shape our modern knowledge of prehistoric species,\u201d Mr Petersen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n