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North America's Oldest Pterosaur Described from Arizona's Petrified Forest
PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA, JUL 8 – The discovery of Eotephradactylus mcintireae sheds light on a late Triassic ecosystem where 16 vertebrate species lived alongside this small flying reptile, dated 209 million years old.
- In 2011, a team including paleontologist Ben Kligman uncovered the oldest pterosaur fossil found in North America at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
- The fossil was preserved in a river-deposited bonebed dated about 209 million years ago, capturing an ecosystem before the end-Triassic extinction around 201 million years ago.
- The site yielded over 1,200 fossils, including the seagull-sized new pterosaur species Eotephradactylus mcintireae, which lived alongside frogs, turtles, giant amphibians, and armored crocodile relatives.
- Kligman emphasized the unexpected excitement in paleontology, explaining that researchers often begin searching for one discovery but end up uncovering something entirely surprising, underscoring the exceptional preservation of early pterosaur fossils at this site.
- The findings reveal a transitional vertebrate community with newer groups thriving alongside older animals disappearing after the Triassic, offering new insight into pre-extinction ecosystems.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Scientists Found 200-Million-Year-Old Flying Reptile Species In Arizona
What do seagulls, ancient deserts, and flying reptiles have in common? They all collided—209 million years ago—in a thriving, fish-filled ecosystem where Arizona now sits.Scientists have just uncovered a treasure trove of fossils in Petrified Forest National Park. These include North America’s oldest-known pterosaur: Eotephradactylus mcintireae.Picture this—three-foot wingspan, curved fangs for fishing mid-flight, and a skull barely bigger than …
Arizona Bonebed Yields North America’s Oldest Pterosaur
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, July 7, 2025 – A Smithsonian-led research team has discovered the oldest known pterosaur in North America, a sea gull-sized winged reptile that lived 209 million years ago during the late Triassic period. The fossilized jawbone of the new species, named Eotephradactylus mcintireae, was unearthed alongside hundreds of other fossils, including one of the world’s oldest turtle fossils, at a remote bonebed in…
Interesting discovery in the U.S. state of Arizona as a deposit has been found where the oldest known pterosaur in North America has been located. Specifically, the group of researchers who did work in the Petrified Forest National Park area found a fossil, the size of a gull, of a kind of winged reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs 209 million years ago.
North america’s oldest pterosaur unearthed in Arizona’s Triassic time capsule
In the remote reaches of Arizona s Petrified Forest National Park, scientists have unearthed North America's oldest known pterosaur a small, gull-sized flier that once soared above Triassic ecosystems. This exciting find, alongside ancient turtles and armored amphibians, sheds light on a key moment in Earth's history when older animal groups overlapped with evolutionary newcomers. The remarkably preserved fossils, including over 1,200 specimens,…
Oldest Flying Reptile in North America Discovered in Arizona Fossil Bed
Speculative reconstruction of Eotephradactylus. Credit: Brian Engh / Public domain Scientists have identified a new species of flying reptile in Arizona that lived more than 200 million years ago, making it the oldest known of its kind ever discovered in North America. The fossil, a partial jawbone, was first found in 2011 in Petrified Forest National Park. Researchers at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History recently used advance…
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