They found a flying dinosaur, described as a dragon, in Australia – science – life

A group of Australian scientists have discovered the remains of a giant flying dinosaur, described as “the fearsome dragon”, which flew over Australian soil during that period. chalkyAcademic sources reported Tuesday.

With twenty-foot wings and a spear-shaped snout, this new car Plitosaurus “He could have been a scary beast,” said Team Leader Tim Richards. University of Queensland Who studied this crawler, in a statement from this Australian institution.

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Richards, who is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Queensland, said the Thapunngaka Shawi, as it was called a prehistoric monster, is “the closest thing in real life to a dragon”. The description of this plesiosaur was based on the analysis of a jaw fossil that was discovered in June 2011 by a local Lin Shuo in the city grounds. Wanamara, in the remote northern part of the state of Queensland, in eastern Australia.

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Scientists estimate that this dinosaur had a skull about one meter in length and was armed with a set of 40 molars that allowed it to feed on large fish that inhabited the ancient Iromanga Sea during the Cretaceous period, a period that began 145 million years ago. It ended 66 million years ago.

Scientists say the Thapunngaka Shawi, believed to be the first animals to fly bones in its back and perfectly adapted to powered flight, had relatively hollow, thin-walled bony pieces.

Steve Salisbury, co-author of the paper and Richard’s PhD supervisor, highlighted the enormous size of the bony rim of the lower jaw, which supposedly resembled the upper jaw of this dinosaur, the largest described in Australia to date.

According to the scientist, “these ridges may have played a role in the flight dynamics of these creatures.”

The name of this flying dinosaur comes from ngaka (nga-ga) and thapun (ta-boon), which in Wanamara’s aboriginal language means “mouth” and “spear”, respectively, while Chaui derives from its discoverer’s nickname.