Palaeontology

'Dragon of death' pterosaur discovered in Argentina

By T.K. Randall
May 24, 2022 ·  4 comments

Some pterosaurs grew to enormous sizes. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 HombreDHojalata Dating back 86 million years, the new species - which was discovered in Argentina's western Mendoza province - was undeniably massive, measuring up to 30ft in length.

Named Thanatosdrakon amaru (or 'dragon of death'), this prehistoric behemoth does not belong to any previously known genus.

"We don't have a current record of any close relative that even has a body modification similar to these beasts," said project leader Leonardo Ortiz.Describing the find as the "largest pterosaur that crossed the Cretaceous skies of South America discovered so far", the researchers noted that its discovery would "expand the knowledge about the anatomy of this diverse group of pterosaurs."

Suffice to say, the 'dragon of death' would have been a truly terrifying sight to behold.

Ancient massive 'Dragon of Death' flying reptile dug up in Argentina https://t.co/GvjPaG6oiz pic.twitter.com/q9iFW26bYO

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 24, 2022

Source: Jerusalem Post | Comments (4)

Tags: Pterosaur