Kryptodrakon progenitor is an extinct genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur that lived in China during the Middle and Late Jurassic period around 163 million years ago.
Description[]
The genus and the species were the oldest known pterodactyl has been unearthed in China, pushing back the evolution of the ancient flying reptiles by five million years, a new study says.
Dubbed Kryptodrakon progenitor, the beast had a wingspan of 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) as it flew the Jurassic skies about 163 million years ago. The new species gets its first name from the Latin krypto (hidden) and drakon (serpent), a nod to the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which was filmed in the desert where the species was discovered. Progenitor refers to its status as the oldest known pterodactyl.
Another intriguing aspect of Kryptodrakon is that it was found—and likely lived—on an inland, forested floodplain. Previously, most pterodactyl fossils have been found near oceans. (ie. Aetodactylus) Though only a few bones of Kryptodrakon were found, scientists "lucked into" the most important one: a wing bone, said Clark, who has received funding for his research from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration. Analysis revealed that the wing bone was broader than those of later species of pterosaurs, which have been discovered in ocean sediments, Clark said. Broader wings gave the reptiles more control in navigating often challenging features on land.
Despite where the Kryptodrakon bones were discovered, University of Southampton's Dyke cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the creature being a landlubber. Flying animals can travel far distances, he noted, and fossils of forest birds previously have been unearthed in deep-ocean sediments.
Discovery[]
Scientists first discovered fragments of Kryptodrakon's delicate fossils in 2001 in northwestern China's remote Shishiugou Formation. That geologic formation has been called a "dinosaur death pit" because ancient quicksand entombed so many prehistoric creatures there. At first, Kryptodrakon's bones were misidentified as belonging to a type of two-legged dinosaur called a theropod, said James Clark, who co-authored the study published April 24 in the journal Current Biology.