Argentina Unearths Ancient ‘Dragon of Death,’ a Massive Flying Reptile Revealing Prehistoric Wonders
A palaeontologist works on excavation of bones and fossils that belonged to a newly discovered species of pterosaurs, Thanatosdrakon Amaru, in Aguada del Padrillo, Mendoza, Argentina August 9, 2012. Picture taken August 9, 2012. Leonardo Ortiz David – Universidad de Cuyo/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights Argentine scientists discovered a new species of a huge flying reptile dubbed “The Dragon of Death” that lived 86 millions of years ago alongside dinosaurs, in a find shedding fresh insight on a predator whose body was as long as a yellow school bus. The new specimen of ancient flying reptile, or pterosaur, measured around 30 feet (9 meters) long and researchers say it predated birds as among the first creatures on Earth to use wings to hunt its prey from prehistoric skies. The team of paleontologists discovered the fossils of the newly coined Thanatosdrakon amaru in the Andes mountains in Argentina’s western Mendoza province. They found that the rocks pres...