A new species from the prehistoric group of flying reptiles known as pterosaurs has been found in Morocco by British scientists.
The new species, named Afrotapjara zouhrii, belongs to a group of pterosaurs called tapejarids from the Cretaceous period, between 145 million years and 66 million years ago.
Tapejarids were small to medium-sized pterosaurs with wingspans as wide as 13 feet (four metres), most of which had broad crests sweeping up from the front of the skull.
Tapejarids are well known in Brazil and China, and remains have been discovered in Europe, but this latest discovery marks the first time they have been found on African soil.
The new pterosaur, named Afrotapjara zouhrii, follows the classification of three other pterosaur species, also found in Morocco, last week.
The new pterosaur, named Afrotapejara zouhrii, differs from the three species reported last week, as this one had no teeth – it was ‘edentulous’
This new specimen was reportedly collected from a series of small excavations in the Kem Kem beds near a small plateau called Ikhf N’ Taqmout (Takmout)
‘You wait ages for a pterosaur and then four come along at once,’ said study leader Professor David Martill at the University of Portsmouth.
‘The study of Moroccan material shows that we are still far from having found all the paleontological treasures of North Africa.
‘Even fragmentary fossils, like the jaw piece of the new pterosaur, can give us important information about the biodiversity of the past.’
Pterosaurs, the less well-known cousins of dinosaurs, had an adept flying ability, some as large as a fighter jet and others small like a model aeroplane.
Partial rostrum – or beak – of Afrotapejara zouhrii from the Kem Kem beds. A, right lateral view; B, left lateral view; C, occlusal view; D, dorsal view
The fossil remains of the other three toothed pterosaurs were identified by an international team of scientists led by Baylor University in Texas.
However, this most recent findings differs from the previous three in that it had no teeth – in other words, it was ‘edentulous’.
Researchers studied the fossilised jaw of Afrotapjara zouhrii, which has a length of about 5.8 inches (148mm).
The structure and shape of the jaw specimen was sufficient to distinguish the fossil from other tapejarids, as well as require classification as a new genus, as well as a new species.
Afrotapjara zouhrii was named as such to honour the Moroccan palaeontologist Professor Samir Zouhri.
Originally a mammal specialist, Zouhri contributed to several discoveries of pre-historic reptiles in Morocco, including dinosaurs and pterosaurs.
He also organised scientific conferences in Morocco and edited a volume for the Geological Society of France on the subject of vertebrate palaeontology in his native country.
The pterosaurs reported on by Texas researchers last week can be distinguished from this new discovery by the presence of teeth (artists’s impression above)
‘The opportunity to illuminate the diversity of pterosaurs in Africa while honouring a colleague does not happen every day,’ said Professor Martill.
The remains were found down a large escarpment known as Kem Kem Beds, where miners climb down every day to dig in coarse sand.
This new specimen was reportedly collected from a series of small excavations in the Kem Kem beds near a small plateau called Ikhf N’ Taqmout (Takmout).
The fossil material is part of the collections of the Faculty of Sciences Aïn Chock, Casablanca Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco.
The new species has been described in the journal Cretaceous Research
WHAT WERE PTEROSAURS?
Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles who ruled the skies in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Scientists have long debated where pterosaurs fit on the evolutionary tree.
The leading theory today is that pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and crocodiles are closely related and belong to a group known as archosaurs, but this is still unconfirmed.
Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles who ruled the skies in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (artist’s impression pictured)
Pterosaurs evolved into dozens of species. Some were as large as an F-16 fighter jet, and others as small as a sparrow.
They were the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight – not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air.
Pterosaurs had hollow bones, large brains with well-developed optic lobes, and several crests on their bones to which flight muscles attached.