Portsmouth archaeologist discovers dinosaur as big as a plane

[Judi Lynn]

Portsmouth archaeologist discovers dinosaur as big as a plane

09:37 Wednesday 08 February 2017


AN ARCHAEOLOGIST from the University of Portsmouth has discovered a dinosaur as big as an aeroplane that used to dominate Transylvania.

New research suggests that a giant pterosaur – a toothless flying reptile with a 10 metre wingspan – may have been the main predator in ancient Romania.

Palaeontologists examined the creature’s unusual gigantic neck vertebra and believe it was a formidable carnivore and major predator that terrorised dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals of Cretaceous-age Transylvania.

It provides the first evidence of large predatory animals in the region at that time.

Read more at: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/education/portsmouth-archaeologist-discovers-dinosaur-as-big-as-a-plane-1-7811587

[Snackshack]

1. Holy smokes!

California Condors I have seen look huge and they have a 3 meter wingspan...10 meter wingspan is gigantic and would be terrifying. Humans would easily be lunch for something that big.

Cool discovery!

[Cracklin Charlie]

2. But it was toothless.

How did it eat it's prey?

[Snackshack]

3. Probably.

With a beak I would guess like Eagles / Hawks / Owls etc.

[hunter]

4. Now there's a fine creature for a science fiction adventure movie.

It would make a great dragon in a fantasy film too.

This planet is an astonishing place.

[NickB79]

5. FYI, pterosaurs were not dinosaurs

They were an offshoot of the archosaur lineage that shared an ancestor with dinosaurs, but were not in fact dinosaurs. Seagoing reptiles of the time were also not dinosaurs.

Rule of thumb: if it flew or swam in the ocean in the Mesozoic, it wasn't a dinosaur. Except for birds, which actually are dinosaurs. Which means dinosaurs never really went extinct.