A diminutive 225 million-year-old reptile unearthed in Brazil gave rise to the biggest creatures that ever flew, according to new research.
The lizard-like species measured just 15 inches from nose to tail. It is a “missing link” in the evolution of pterosaurs–that reached the size of airlanes. Named Maehary bonapartei, it will shed fresh light on how the giant predators got their wings.
“We hope so. Pterosaurs were reptiles that achieved flight even before birds. But the early origins of the wings is still poorly understood,” said paleontologist Rodrigo Muller of the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil.
