Scientists have confirmed that remains extracted from Dinosaur Cove, Australia, are 107 million-year-old pterosaur bones, according to a new study published in the journal Historical Biology. The pterosaur is the world's oldest flying reptile and was the first vertebrate to develop flight through evolution, per CNN.
The bones were originally discovered approximately 30 years ago in the Australian state of Victoria. "Pterosaurs are rare worldwide, and only a few remains have been discovered at what were high palaeolatitude locations, such as Victoria, so these bones give us a better idea as to where pterosaurs lived and how big they were," explained Adele Pentland, the study's lead researcher and a Ph.D. student at Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
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"By analyzing these bones, we have also been able to confirm the existence of the first ever Australian juvenile pterosaur, which resided in the Victorian forests around 107 million years ago," Pentland continued. Added Tom Rich of the Museums Victoria Research Institute, who also worked on the study: "These two fossils were the outcome of a labor-intensive effort by more than 100 volunteers over a decade."
"Fewer than 25 sets of pterosaur remains belonging to four species have been found in Australia since the 1980s," CNN summarized, per Pentland.
"Australia was further south than it is today, and the state of Victoria was within the polar circle," meaning it was "covered in darkness for weeks on end during the winter," Pentland added. This shows that pterosaurs had the ability to live under cold and dark conditions. "It is clear that pterosaurs found a way to survive and thrive."
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