{"id":36955,"date":"2025-07-07T19:11:38","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T19:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T19:11:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T19:11:38","slug":"north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/","title":{"rendered":"North America&#8217;s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a &#8220;small seagull,&#8221; discovered in Arizona, researchers say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>For paleontologist Ben Kligman, the question was: Is this fragile jawbone a pterosaur or not?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Other researchers also had questions about the fossil, unearthed along with thousands of others during a decades-long archaeological dig at a remote bone bed in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/pefo\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Petrified Forest National Park <\/a>in Arizona. Some thought the bone could&#8217;ve been a mammal, Kligman told CBS News.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now, their new research offers insight into North America&#8217;s oldest known flying reptile that Kligman and other paleontologists say was the size of a &#8220;small seagull.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Smithsonian-led paper,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2505513122\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">published Monday<\/a>\u00a0in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, details the new pterosaur fossil discovery along with several others, providing insight into the late Triassic period.<\/p>\n<p>Kligman remembers looking at the jawbone under a microscope at the Smithsonian \u2014 where he is a <a href=\"https:\/\/naturalhistory.si.edu\/staff\/ben-kligman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Peter Buck postdoctoral fellow<\/a> and where the fossil had been sent \u2014 and running through his &#8220;Rolodex&#8221; of Triassic jaw anatomy, thinking about what species could have a similar jaw. He wanted to solve the mystery of where the delicate jawbone belonged.<\/p>\n<p>Through the process of elimination, and thinking of the features pterosaurs have that no other animal has, Kligman said he and other researchers were able to conclude that, &#8220;Oh yeah, this is definitely a pterosaur \u2014 therefore, this is a very important discovery.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/620x465\/abaf22c6a79329e6ac1a50762cf91de7\/e-img-6930.jpg#\" alt=\"e-img-6930.jpg \" height=\"465\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/620x465\/abaf22c6a79329e6ac1a50762cf91de7\/e-img-6930.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1240x930\/f36dd40f3e54b6e0e3a4d6b9d81a17e9\/e-img-6930.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">Ben Kligman, a Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow and paleontologist at the Smithsonian&#8217;s National Museum of Natural History, quarrying a bonebed in Arizona&#8217;s Petrified Forest National Park in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Ben Kligman<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The team named the pterosaur the Eotephradactylus mcintireae, which means &#8220;ash-winged dawn goddess.&#8221; The species name references its discoverer, Suzanne McIntire, who volunteered in the Smithsonian&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/naturalhistory.si.edu\/exhibits\/david-h-koch-hall-fossils-deep-time\/fossilab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">FossiLab<\/a> for 18 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McIntire discovered the pterosaur fossil, which had been brought to the museum from the Petrified Forest National Park along with 1,200 other individual fossils, including bones, teeth, fish scales and coprolites, or fossilized excrement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Volunteers painstakingly clean each fossil, flag ones of interest and perform other fossil conservation tasks. McIntire unearthed the jawbone and noticed the teeth were still in the bone, making it easier to identify. \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/d678725c-ce1f-4298-830f-adad3ade2396\/thumbnail\/620x465\/7c602fefc5ddaaa752680cd21897ce0a\/c1-ben-kligman-richard-cline-lynn-sharp-fossillab-by-btk.jpg#\" alt=\"c1-ben-kligman-richard-cline-lynn-sharp-fossillab-by-btk.jpg \" height=\"465\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/d678725c-ce1f-4298-830f-adad3ade2396\/thumbnail\/620x465\/7c602fefc5ddaaa752680cd21897ce0a\/c1-ben-kligman-richard-cline-lynn-sharp-fossillab-by-btk.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/d678725c-ce1f-4298-830f-adad3ade2396\/thumbnail\/1240x930\/60835594708644b86fc67e2bb79a37c6\/c1-ben-kligman-richard-cline-lynn-sharp-fossillab-by-btk.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">Volunteers working on fossils from a Petrified Forest National Park bonebed in the FossiLab at the Smithsonian&#8217;s National Museum of Natural History.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Ben Kligman<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The winged reptile \u2014 a close cousin of dinosaurs and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnh.org\/exhibitions\/pterosaurs-flight-in-the-age-of-dinosaurs\/what-is-a-pterosaur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">first animals<\/a> after insects to evolve powered flight \u2014 would&#8217;ve been small enough to comfortably perch on a person&#8217;s shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It could&#8217;ve sat on your shoulder, like a small seagull,&#8221; Kligman said of the species.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Researchers were able to date the fossil back to 209.2 million years ago \u2014 an unusually precise date, Kligman said, because of the level of volcanic ash where the fossil was found. The finding helps fill in a gap in the fossil record that predates the end-Triassic extinction, he said. Very few pterosaur fossils exist, Kligman said. After their extinction, their fragile bones preserved poorly, so pterosaur fossils are frequently incomplete. They also did not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnh.org\/exhibitions\/pterosaurs-flight-in-the-age-of-dinosaurs\/what-is-a-pterosaur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">live close<\/a> to places where fossils tend to form.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/9e7f443e-6513-4d22-be4c-bc5d22a30b14\/thumbnail\/620x801\/8e89ae4cceaf998314a598d7fd796662\/screen-shot-2025-07-03-at-7-37-14-pm.png#\" alt=\"An artist's reconstruction of the fossilized creature \" height=\"801\" width=\"620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/9e7f443e-6513-4d22-be4c-bc5d22a30b14\/thumbnail\/620x801\/8e89ae4cceaf998314a598d7fd796662\/screen-shot-2025-07-03-at-7-37-14-pm.png 1x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">An artist&#8217;s reconstruction of the fossilized landscape, plants and animals found preserved in a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Illustration by Brian Engh<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;It helps us understand what a pterosaur was and how they became what they would become,&#8221; Kligman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Along with the pterosaur, the study also detailed other findings, including one of the world&#8217;s oldest turtle fossils, giant amphibians and armored crocodile relatives, which lived alongside evolutionary upstarts like frogs, turtles and pterosaurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation \">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>    <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/team\/cara-tabachnick\/\" class=\"content-author__name\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Cara  Tabachnick<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-author__bio\">\n<div class=\"content-author__full-information\">\n<p class=\"content-author__text\">Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at cara.tabachnick@cbsinteractive.com<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/north-america-oldest-pterosaur-smithsonian-arizona\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For paleontologist Ben Kligman, the question was: Is this fragile jawbone a pterosaur or not?\u00a0 Other researchers also had questions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[169,6647],"class_list":["post-36955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-arizona","tag-smithsonian"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>North America&#039;s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a &quot;small seagull,&quot; discovered in Arizona, researchers say - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Researchers were able to date the fossil of the flying reptile, a close cousin of dinosaurs, back to more than 209 million years ago.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North America&#039;s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a &quot;small seagull,&quot; discovered in Arizona, researchers say - World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers were able to date the fossil of the flying reptile, a close cousin of dinosaurs, back to more than 209 million years ago.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"998\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\"},\"headline\":\"North America&#8217;s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a &#8220;small seagull,&#8221; discovered in Arizona, researchers say\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Arizona\",\"Smithsonian\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/\",\"name\":\"North America's oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a \\\"small seagull,\\\" discovered in Arizona, researchers say - World News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Researchers were able to date the fossil of the flying reptile, a close cousin of dinosaurs, back to more than 209 million years ago.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"North America&#8217;s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a &#8220;small seagull,&#8221; discovered in Arizona, researchers say\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\",\"name\":\"World News\",\"description\":\"World News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\",\"name\":\"World News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png\",\"width\":581,\"height\":581,\"caption\":\"World News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\",\"name\":\"News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"North America's oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a \"small seagull,\" discovered in Arizona, researchers say - World News","description":"Researchers were able to date the fossil of the flying reptile, a close cousin of dinosaurs, back to more than 209 million years ago.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"North America's oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a \"small seagull,\" discovered in Arizona, researchers say - World News","og_description":"Researchers were able to date the fossil of the flying reptile, a close cousin of dinosaurs, back to more than 209 million years ago.","og_url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/","og_site_name":"World News","article_published_time":"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"url":"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg","width":1920,"height":998,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/"},"author":{"name":"News","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2"},"headline":"North America&#8217;s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a &#8220;small seagull,&#8221; discovered in Arizona, researchers say","datePublished":"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/"},"wordCount":642,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1","keywords":["Arizona","Smithsonian"],"articleSection":["Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/","name":"North America's oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a \"small seagull,\" discovered in Arizona, researchers say - World News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1","datePublished":"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-07T19:11:38+00:00","description":"Researchers were able to date the fossil of the flying reptile, a close cousin of dinosaurs, back to more than 209 million years ago.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/north-americas-oldest-known-pterosaur-a-flying-reptile-the-size-of-a-small-seagull-discovered-in-arizona-researchers-say\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"North America&#8217;s oldest known pterosaur, a flying reptile the size of a &#8220;small seagull,&#8221; discovered in Arizona, researchers say"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/","name":"World News","description":"World News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization","name":"World News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png","width":581,"height":581,"caption":"World News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2","name":"News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1","medium_large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=768&resize=768,0&ssl=1","large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1","1536x1536":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1536&resize=1536,1536&ssl=1","2048x2048":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=2048&resize=2048,2048&ssl=1","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=392&resize=392,272&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=390&resize=390,205&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=130&resize=130,90&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=800&resize=800,445&ssl=1","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1400&resize=1400,600&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1155&resize=1155,480&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=600&resize=600,417&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=285&resize=285,450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=575&resize=575,198&ssl=1"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"News","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"For paleontologist Ben Kligman, the question was: Is this fragile jawbone a pterosaur or not?\u00a0 Other researchers also had questions","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Science"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":13,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,630&ssl=1",1200,630,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2025\/07\/03\/793df8c3-2fc3-44e8-a589-653f2d4570c6\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/a7993015dca7058609e8a15ff36d4e96\/e-img-6930.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"News","author_link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-38\">Science<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}