Paleontologists Discover One of North America's Earliest Flying Reptiles
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The oldest known pterosaur fossil ever found outside of Europe has just been discovered in Arizona, offering new insights into the flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years ago.
In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers led by paleontologist Ben Kligman, of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, examine a fossilized jawbone of the new species.
The gull-sized pterosaur was found at the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona along with hundreds of other fossils dating back 209 million years—to the late Triassic period,—filling a gap in the fossil record just before the end-Triassic extinction.
An artist's impression of the newly identified pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintirea
An artist's impression of the newly identified pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintirea
Brian Engh
From what the researchers were able to gather, the new species of pterosaur—dubbed Eotephradactylus mcintireae after Suzanne McIntire, the FossiLab volunteer who discovered it—was small enough to comfortably perch on a person's shoulder. It likely fed on the site's fish.
These findings, unearthed from the Owl Rock Member that outcrops in a remote and less explored area of the site, reveal that at that time older animals like giant amphibians and armored crocodile relatives lived alongside newer species such as early frogs, turtles and pterosaurs.
"The site captures the transition to more modern terrestrial vertebrate communities where we start seeing groups that thrive later in the Mesozoic living alongside these older animals that don't make it past the Triassic," Kligman said in a statement.
"Fossil beds like these enable us to establish that all of these animals actually lived together."
Ben Kligman, a Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow and paleontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, quarrying a bonebed in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park in 2025.
Ben Kligman, a Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow and paleontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, quarrying a bonebed in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park in 2025.
Ben Kligman, Smithsonian.
Back in 2011, a team co-led by research geologist Kay Behrensmeyer, the National Museum of Natural History's curator of vertebrate paleontology, was exploring challenging terrain when they came across the fossil rich bonebed, which turned out to be preserving an entire Triassic ecosystem.
"That's the fun thing about paleontology: you go looking for one thing, and then you find something else that's incredible that you weren't expecting," said Kligman, who began working on this site as part of his doctorate in 2018.
Volunteers working on fossils from a Petrified Forest National Park bonebed in the FossiLab on view to museumgoers in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time at the Smithsonian's National Museum of...
Volunteers working on fossils from a Petrified Forest National Park bonebed in the FossiLab on view to museumgoers in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. More
Ben Kligman, Smithsonian.
Scientists believe that during the Triassic period, this part of Arizona was an arid place positioned in the middle of Pangaea right above the equator, later submerged by a flood that likely buried all the creatures preserved in the bonebed.
Among the creatures unearthed at the site was also an ancient turtle with spike-like armor and shell, which at the same time was also present in Germany. This discovery suggests that turtles dispersed rapidly across Pangaea, despite their size and speed.
Do you have a science story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about fossils? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Reference
Kligman, B. T., Whatley, R. L., Ramezani, J., Marsh, A. D., Lyson, T. R., Fitch, A. J., Parker, W. G., & Behrensmeyer, A. K. (2025). Unusual bone bed reveals a vertebrate community with pterosaurs and turtles in equatorial Pangaea before the end-Triassic extinction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2505513122
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Moon-hitting Asteroid Could Cause Special Meteor Shower
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. An extraordinary celestial event could unfold in the night sky in less than a decade if an asteroid passing Earth collides with the Moon. The impact of asteroid 2024 YR4 into the lunar surface would likely send debris flying out towards us, resulting in a unique meteor shower composed entirely of moon dust. This intriguing prospect is the subject of recent study by researchers from the University of Western Ontario, Athabasca University and the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration (IESX). The team estimate that 2024 YR4—which is some 200 feet in diameter—has around a four percent chance of impacting the moon on December 22, 2032. Should the collision occur, the energy released would be substantial—equivalent to 6.5 megatons of TNT. Such an impact would to excavate a massive crater out of the lunar surface, one more than half a mile in diameter. An asteroid near a planet. An asteroid near a planet.A Meteor Shower of Moondust The most fascinating consequence of the 2024 YR4's collision with the Moon for Earth would be the creation of a moondust meteor storm. The impact would release a significant amount of lunar material, a portion of portion of which might travel towards our planet. According to the researchers, "as much as 10 percent of this material may accrete to the Earth on timescales of a few days," depending on the exact location of the impact on the Moon's surface. The moondust blasted at Earth's would differ significantly from typical meteors, the team explain. Firstly, the dust would enter Earth's upper atmosphere at the relatively slow speed of approximately seven miles per second; this is considerably slower than well-known showers like the Perseids, which travel at around 37 miles per second. As a result, these lunar meteors would likely appear dimmer and more prolonged than standard "shooting stars"—but they could still be visible to the naked eye, and in substantial numbers. Simulations by the researchers suggest that this unique storm could continue for several days. What makes this event truly remarkable is the prospect that nearly every visible meteor during such a shower would be an actual fragment of the Moon. Historical Significance and Concerns If asteroid 2024 YR4 does strike in 2032, it would be a rare historical event, the researchers note. "If 2024 YR4 strikes the Moon in 2032, it will (statistically speaking) be the largest impact in approximately 5,000 years," they wrote in their paper. Beyond the spectacular sight, though, the potential impact also raises concerns for planetary defense and space operations. The researchers noted that the "impacts on the Moon may generate particles which can interfere with Low Earth orbiting satellites," often used for communication, Earth observation and research. Astronomers will have a clearer picture of asteroid 2024 YR4's trajectory in 2028 when it clears the sun and becomes observable again, allowing for updated calculations on its likelihood of impact. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about asteroids? Let us know via science@ Reference Wiegert, P., Brown, P., Lopes, J., & Connors, M. (2025). The potential danger to satellites due to ejecta from a 2032 lunar impact by asteroid 2024 YR4. arXiv.
Newsweek
7 hours ago
- Newsweek
SpaceX Unveils New Version of Mars-Bound Starship
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. SpaceX has moved a new iteration of its Starship model to its Starbase in Texas for preflight testing. The new model, which CEO Elon Musk described as the "V2 Starship," is the latest development in the line of spaceships he hopes will one day take a manned mission to Mars. Newsweek has contacted SpaceX for more information via email. Why It Matters As the only privately owned, fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under active development, Starship's progress may have a significant influence on government agencies such as NASA—with SpaceX being one of the agency's most important contractors for U.S. space exploration. If successful, the spacecraft could drastically reduce the cost of launching payloads to orbit and enable ambitious missions such as NASA's Artemis lunar program and the eventual establishment of a human colony on Mars. What To Know In an update on Monday, SpaceX shared new images of the V2 Starship being moved to the Texas Starbase for a series of preflight tests. The post, which Musk shared, showed the Starship on a moving platform heading to the launch tower at the South Texas Launch Site, which has been SpaceX's main testing and production location since 2014. In his post, Musk also said he hoped that the next iteration of the model, the V3, would launch by "end of year." Starship moved to the launch site at Starbase for preflight testing — SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 29, 2025 The long-term goal of SpaceX and the Starship line of rockets is to establish a human presence on Mars. In preparation for expeditions to Mars, SpaceX plans to send five Starships on an uncrewed test mission to the red planet during the 2026 planetary alignment. Later missions, targeting the 2028-2029 window, are set to deploy up to 20 ships to deliver equipment and infrastructure, paving the way for prospective human landings between 2030 and 2031. The update comes after a SpaceX launch detonated during a static test fire in June. Parts of the rocket exploded at the test site during preflight testing. The problem was later traced to an issue with the pressurized nitrogen tank in the ship's nose cone. A SpaceX V2 Starship heads to the Starbase launch site in Texas on July 28. A SpaceX V2 Starship heads to the Starbase launch site in Texas on July 28. SpaceX What People Are Saying SpaceX restated its goals for reaching Mars in a March statement: "Expansion of Starship production and launch operations in Florida will enable SpaceX to significantly increase the build and flight rates for Starship, which will be the first rapidly and fully reusable launch vehicle in history. "Access to space is a critical and growing need for U.S. national security, leadership in science, the country's exploration goals, and for the growth of the economy. Starship will ultimately be responsible for sending millions of tons of payload to Mars—building a self-sustaining city to make humanity multiplanetary." What Happens Next The next manned launch of a SpaceX flight is scheduled to take place in August.
Newsweek
18 hours ago
- Newsweek
60% of Liver Cancer Are Preventable, Report Reveals
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. As many as three in five liver cancer cases could be prevented—with obesity-linked cases on the rise in particular. This is the finding of a report from the Lancet Commission on liver cancer, which found that case numbers could be slashed by reducing alcohol consumption, levels of viral hepatitis and 'metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease' (MASLD—previously known as 'non-alcoholic fatty liver disease'.) The Commission warns that the share of liver cancer cases caused by a severe form of MASLD called 'metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis' (MASH) is expected to increase by 35 percent come 2050. The authors have called for increased awareness of the rising risk of MASLD—especially in the U.S., Europe and Asia—with a focus on high-risk groups like people with diabetes and obesity. "Unfortunately through our literature review and discussion we found the public, policy makers and sometimes clinicians aren't aware of the growing problem of liver cancer," Stephen Chan, clinical oncology professor at the Chinese university of Hong Kong, told Newsweek. While around a third of the global population have MASLD, only 20–30 percent of patients with it will develop the more severe form of the condition with liver inflammation and damage. "We expect MASLD to be more problematic in the western world because of there being more metabolic causes like diabetes, fatty liver, people who are overweight…these also need behavioral modifications," Chan explained. Man holding stomach with pain at top right hand side. Man holding stomach with pain at top right hand side. GratsiasThe Commission highlighted several ways to reduce risk factors. These include increasing the coverage of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine and screening programs—and boosting public health policies targeting obesity and alcohol consumption, like minimum alcohol unit pricing, warning labels and advertising restrictions. The team have also called for professional organizations and the pharmaceutical industry to work together to reduce differences between eastern and western regions of the world in the clinical management of liver cancer. More obvious lifestyle changes—like "stopping drinking or drinking less"—are also needed, Chan said. However, he added: "There still aren't many policies on helping high-risk individuals to make and sustain behavioral modifications." The researchers estimate that if countries can reduce the incidence of liver cancer cases by two–five percent each year by 2050, it could prevent 9–17 million new cases of liver cancer and save 8–15 million lives. Previous analyses have predicted that the number of new liver cancer cases will nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million in 2050, primarily due to population growth and aging populations, with the largest increases expected in Africa. The number of deaths from liver cancer is also predicted to grow from 760,000 in 2022 to 1.37 million in 2050. Liver cancer is already the sixth most common cancer and third leading cause of death from cancer globally. In the U.S., about 42,240 new cases will be diagnosed this year, with about 30,090 people expected to die, according to the American Cancer Society. Liver cancer incidence rates have more than tripled since 1980, while the death rates have more than doubled during this time. More than 40 percent of the global liver cancer cases occur in China, mostly due to relatively high rates of hepatitis B infections in the country. "Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5 percent to 30 percent. We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend," said Commission chair professor Jian Zhou of Fudan University, China, in a statement. Hepatitis B vaccine. Hepatitis B vaccine. ronstik/Getty Images At least 60 percent of liver cancers are predicted to be preventable by addressing risk factors including HBV, hepatitis C, MASLD and alcohol. MASH is the fastest growing cause of liver cancer globally, followed by alcohol. The proportion of liver cancer cases linked to HBV, however, is expected to decrease from 39 percent in 2022 to 37 percent in 2050, while hepatitis C-related cases are projected to drop from 29 to 26 percent over the same period. "Liver cancer was once thought to occur mainly in patients with viral hepatitis or alcohol-related liver disease. However, today rising rates of obesity are an increasing risk factor for liver cancer, primarily due to the increase in cases of excess fat around the liver," said commission author professor Hashem B El-Serag of the Baylor College of Medicine in the US said in a statement. "One approach to identify patients at high risk of liver cancer would be to introduce screening for liver damage into routine healthcare practice for patients at high risk of MASLD, such as individuals living with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. "Healthcare professionals should also integrate lifestyle counselling into routine care to support patients to transition to a healthy diet and regular physical activity. "Furthermore, policy makers must promote healthy food environments via policies such as sugar taxes and clear labelling on products with high fat, salt, and/or sugar." Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about liver cancer? Let us know via health@ Reference Chan, S. L., Sun, H.-C., Xu, Y., Zeng, H., El-Serag, H. B., Lee, J. M., Schwartz, M. E., Finn, R. S., Seong, J., Wang, X. W., Paradis, V., Abou-Alfa, G. K., Rimassa, L., Kao, J.-H., Zhang, B.-H., Llovet, J. M., Bruix, J., Yip, T. C.-F., Wong, V. W.-S., ... Zhou, J. (2025). The Lancet Commission on addressing the global hepatocellular carcinoma burden: Comprehensive strategies from prevention to treatment. The Lancet Commissions.
