‘Winged Lizard’ of Jurassic period discovered in Chile for the first time

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<strong>In what can be described as an incredible find, Chilean scientists have announced the discovery for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere of the remains of a “winged lizard” of the Jurassic period. This creature is known as a pterosaur.</strong></p>
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The discovery of this fossil of the dinosaur which lived some 160 million years ago in what is presently known as Atacama desert was made in 2009.</p>
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The remains have now been confirmed to be that of a rhamphorhynchine pterosaur — the first such creature to be found in Gondwana.</p>
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Gondwana, was the prehistoric supercontinent that later formed the Southern Hemisphere landmasses.</p>
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Sharing details of this creature, researcher Jhonatan Alarcon of the University of Chile said the creatures had a wingspan of up to two meters, a long tail, and pointed snout. “We show that the distribution of animals in this group was wider than known to date,” he remarked.</p>
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In the scientific journal Acta Paleontologica Polonic, scientists reported that the discovery was also "the oldest known pterosaur found in Chile”.</p>