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Scientists Identify North America’s Earliest Pterosaur From 209-Million-Year-Old Fossil

Analysis of a jawbone unearthed by a Smithsonian volunteer fills a critical pre-extinction gap in North American pterosaur history

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Overview

  • The new species, Eotephradactylus mcintireae, was named in honor of FossiLab volunteer Suzanne McIntire who discovered the jawbone
  • Researchers estimate the gull-sized reptile fed on fish based on its jaw and tooth structure
  • The Owl Rock Member bonebed preserves a late Triassic community including giant amphibians, early frogs, armored turtles and crocodile relatives
  • Armor-spiked turtle remains matching German specimens suggest turtles dispersed rapidly across equatorial Pangaea
  • The study led by Smithsonian paleontologist Ben Kligman was published in July 2025 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences