Dsungaripterus

pterosaur · Cretaceous · ancient China · flying reptile

Giant flying hunter. Dsungaripterus was a pterosaur, a flying reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs. It soared through the skies of Early Cretaceous China, hundreds of millions of years before birds like eagles existed.

Upturned snout. This creature had an unusual long snout that curved upward at the tip, different from most other pterosaurs. Scientists think it used this special beak to hunt fish and other small prey from rivers and lakes.

Ancient Asian fossil beds. Fossils of Dsungaripterus come from the Junggar Basin in what is now China, and possibly South Korea too. These rocks are from a group called the Wuerho Pterosaur Fauna, which shows that this region was full of flying reptiles long ago.

Over 130 million years old. Dsungaripterus lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, making it incredibly ancient. Its fossils are so old that they help scientists understand what life was like on Earth before many dinosaurs went extinct.