By Rachel Feltman August 13 at 4:11 PM
![]()
An artist’s take on Caiuajara dobruskii.
(Maurilio Oliveira/Museu Nacional-UFRJ)
A new species of flying reptile has been classified from remains found in Brazil, scientists reported Wednesday in PLoS ONE. Caiuajara dobruskii, which lived around 80 million years ago, provided researchers with quite the archaeological haul: At least 47 individuals have been identified from the skeletal remains found.
The species must have been quite social to be found in such a large group,the scientists reported in the study. The evidence suggests that these reptiles lived in colonies surrounding a lake in the otherwise dry desert. Their wingspans started out around .65 meters, and gradually reached up to 2.35 meters at maturity. Because skeletal size didn’t change much between childhood and adulthood, the study states, the reptiles were most likely able to fly at a very young age.
But one thing that did change rapidly with age was Caiuajara dobruskii’s unusual bony head crest. The ridge jutted out from a large opening in the creature’s skull, just in front of the eyes.
In younger animals, the crest was small and sloping. As they aged, the crests grew larger and more steep.
More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/s...9-3012c1cd8d1e