Paleontologists have recently found a new species of pterosaur in northeast Brazil. Pterosaurs were huge flying reptiles with a wingspan of up to 12 meters, and at least 10 distinct groups of pterosaur have been identified. This specimen, which has been named lacusovagus (lake wanderer), is unusual because it's the first pterosaur of its group found outside China, and also because its 10 times larger than the Chinese dinosaurs. Lacusovagus magnificens had a wingspan of around five meters and measured one meter tall. Despite its large size, it only weighed an estimated 20 kilograms, as if it were any heavier, it would have had a hard time flying. Although the lacusovagus was carnivorous, it didn't have any teeth.
The fossil was discovered in an area known as the Crato Formation, which has yielded a wide variety of well-preserved fossils. Fossilized fish in the area are sometimes discovered with their stomach contents intact, allowing scientists to understand the ecosystem better. Other fossils found there, which are all over 100 million years old, include fish, amphibians and insects. As the Crato Formation's fossils are so common and in such good condition, illegal commerce has become a lucrative industry that threatens to destroy this priceless prehistoric record.
