They found a flying dinosaur, described as a “scary dragon”, in Australia

A group of Australian scientists discovered the remains of a Giant flying dinosaurAnd Described as “the fearsome dragon”, which flew over Australian territory during this period chalkyAcademic sources reported Tuesday.

With a seven-meter wingspan and a spear-shaped snout, this new dinosaur “would be a fearsome beast,” Tim Richards, head of the University of Queensland team that studied this reptile, said in a statement from this Australian institution. .

the Shawy ThapunngakaBecause a prehistoric monster was baptized, Richards, who is pursuing a doctorate at the University of Queensland, said it was “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 the local Lin Shu on the lands of the Wanamara people, in a remote northern part of Queensland, in eastern Australia.

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 animal to fly with bones in its back and perfectly adapted to powered flight, had relatively hollow, thin-walled bits of bone.

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.

With information from EFE.

LLH