The Press Stories
After examining the fossils, researchers discovered a new flying lizard that once flew and caught fish in Australia today. Seven meters between the spear-shaped head and wings, this species is the largest living animal on the continent.
The species has been given the Latin name Tapungaka Shavi and comes from researchers at the University of Queensland’s “Dinosaur Laboratory”. They analyzed the fossils and concluded that it was a species that had not been previously scientifically described. In 2011 fossils were discovered in a quarry near the town of Richmond in the northeastern part of the country.
– With its spear-like mouth, Tapungaka Shavi we are approaching a real dragon. Tim Richards, a researcher at the University of Queensland, said it showed its shadow over the trembling little dinosaurs that heard nothing until it was too late. University website.
Fast and agile pilot
The skull is more than a meter long and has just over 40 teeth, adapting to catch fish that lived in the ocean, making up large areas of Queensland today. With a relatively bare skeleton, it was a fast and agile pilot. It is believed to have lived between 145 million and 100 million years ago, in the time of the old Cretaceous.
The name Tapungaka Shavi comes from the Vanamara or Ngaun language, which was previously spoken by the locals. Tabun means spear and Naga means mouth, and Shavi comes from Len Shaw, who discovered the fossil. Translated somewhat directly, the Latin name means Shaw’s spear.
Not a dinosaur – but like one
The third flying lizard to be discovered in Australia is the Tapungaka Shavi. Flying lizards are classified as crocodiles in the group of orcos, so they are not dinosaurs, even though they resemble each other.
Published in the journal Research Science Journal of Spinal Archeology.
