Fossil of Flightless Reptile Sheds Light on Origin of Flying Pterosaurs

New fossil found in Brazil named Venetoraptor gassenae provides clues to pterosaur ancestry.
Venetoraptor was a three-foot-long, nine to 18 pound reptile that likely climbed trees and glided.
Discovery challenges previous ideas about dinosaurs' and pterosaurs' evolutionary histories.
Venetoraptor more closely related to pterosaurs than dinosaurs, contradicting earlier assumptions.
Hooked beak and curved claws suggest transitional species between land-dwellers and aerially adept pterosaurs.