An article published in the journal “Gondwana Research” reports the discovery of an ichthyosaur fossil in present-day Australia that preserved the contents of its stomach, which includes the remains of a pterosaur. The ichthyosaur itself shows remarkable signs of having been bitten by a pliosaur, which literally broke its bones. A team of researchers led by Dr. Matt White of the University of New England studied these fossils and reconstructed this snapshot of the ecosystem in which these animals lived during the Cretaceous Period. The result reveals a portion of the food chain that existed in that area approximately 100 million years ago.

An article published in the “Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History” reports the identification of a new species of mosasaur, named Tylosaurus rex because its characteristics indicate it was a massive and fierce predator. A team of researchers reexamined Tylosaurus fossils previously attributed to other species of this taxonomic genus of mosasaurs, concluding that some specimens had anatomical characteristics different enough to warrant assignment to a new species.

An article published in the journal “Scientific Reports” describes the identification of a new species of marine reptile with an exceptionally long tail that lived about 244 million years ago, in the Middle Triassic period, in today’s China. A team of researchers named it Honghesaurus longicaudalis after examining a complete skeleton discovered in the Guanling Formation in China’s Yunnan province. This reptile is part of the now-extinct group of pachypleurosaurs and was quite large among them, with a long trunk and tail that probably gave it swimming maneuverability and efficiency.

An article published in the journal “Fossil Record” reports a study on the oldest pterodactyl fossils discovered so far. A team of researchers examined a sub-adult specimen of Pterodactylus antiquus (Photo courtesy Augustin et al., all rights reserved) discovered in central Bavaria, Germany, which dates back to the sage known as the Kimmeridgian, part of the Upper Jurassic period. So far, the specimens dating from the Tithonian age, the next and last of the Jurassic period. This specimen is one of the best-preserved pterodactyl specimens, which is another reason why this discovery is important.

An article published in the journal “PLoS ONE” reports the attribution of an almost complete pterosaur skeleton to the Tupandactylus navigans species. This fossil skeleton arrived in the hands of a team of researchers led by Dr. Victor Beccari in an adventurous way, as it was confiscated by the police along with other very well-preserved fossils during a raid at Santos Harbour, Brazil. The researchers subjected the skeleton to a CT scan that made it possible to create a 3D reproduction. The examination also led to the hypothesis that Tupandactylus navigans and Tupandactylus imperator actually constitute the two sexes of the same species.