New Fish-eating Pterosaur

Published: 16th Jan 2014

A new type of pterosaur has been discovered in the Wallendorf limestone of Germany that lived about 155 million years ago. The pterosaur lived off fish and the remains of its last meal have been found in its stomach. The pterosaur is strangely shaped with a body the size of a raven and a wingspan of 1.2 metres. The reptile had a long beak with 400 long, blunt teeth that was ideal for catching fish from rock pools and shallow lagoons.

The limestone has proved to be a treasure trove of fossils and has so far yielded up over 5000 specimens for scientists. Theses comprise of remains of sharks, turtles, fish, snails and crocodiles. It is hoped that further study will reveal more of this new pterosaur’s secrets. One scientist believes there are links between this pterosur and the much later giant pterosaurs with wingspans of up to 10 metres