By: Adalyn Xiao

A new species of pterosaur has been discovered! This pterosaur was discovered by Kevin Petersen in in Queensland, Australia, in 2021. He named it Haliska peterseni for Mr. Petersen. The pterosaur had a muscular tongue and a large wingspan.

Pterosaurs existed about 225 to 65 million years ago. They were prehistoric flying reptiles with wings and bird-like beaks. Pterosaurs also aren’t dinosaurs although they lived at the same time. There are more than 200 species of pterosaurs, the one with the longest wingspan had a 35-foot wingspan-as long as a London bus!

This new species of pterosaur is believed to have had a muscular tongue and a large wingspan. Mr. Peteren is thrilled that his discovery is new because his passion is helping shape our modern knowledge on prehistoric species.

At Curtin University in Australia, a research team examined the new pterosaur bones. They inspected the shape of its skull, shoulder bones, and the way the teeth are arranged. Because of Haliska’s wingspan it would have been a frightening predator 100 million years ago. Haliska used its tongue to help it feed on fish and cephalopods.

The research team examined Haliska’s skull, shoulder bones, and the way the teeth were arranged. All of Haliska’s features were interesting to examine. It will continue to be researched.