One hundred million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, much of northeastern Australia was underwater. The inland Eromanga Sea was home to a host of marine animals, from turtles and dolphin-like ichthyosaurs to the bus-sized predator. Kronosaurus queenslandicus and other plesiosaurs.
The forested edge of the sea was home to dinosaurs and the sky above was filled with birds. But they would all have been overshadowed by the largest flying creatures of the time: the pterosaurs.
In November 2021, Kevin Petersen, an avocado farmer turned museum curator, discovered a fossilized skeleton near Richmond in Queensland. The previously unknown species turned out to be the most complete pterosaur fossil found in Australia. It comprises about 22% of an animal’s skeleton with a wingspan of about 4.6 meters.
My colleagues and I have now described the fossil in the journal Scientific Reports. It represents a new species of pterosaur, and we’ve given it a name Haliskia petersenimeaning Petersen’s sea phantom.
Fossils of pterosaurs are rare
Fossils of pterosaurs have been found on every continent. However, they are much less common than fossils of dinosaurs or ancient marine reptiles.
Pterosaurs had hollow, thin-walled bones. This was a major evolutionary adaptation to life in the air, but the lightweight skeletons are not easily fossilized.
Few complete pterosaur skeletons are known worldwide, and most come from a handful of locations with unusually excellent fossil preservation conditions. When pterosaur bones are found in other locations, they are often crushed and deformed.
As a result, many pterosaur fossils are the only ones of their kind. This includes the oldest flying reptile fossils ever found in Australia.
What the skeleton tells us about how Haliskia lived
The newly described fossil is only the second partial pterosaur skeleton ever found in Australia. It retains twice as many bones as Ferrodraco lentoni.
Haliskia retains a complete lower jaw, the tip of the upper jaw, 43 teeth, vertebrae, ribs, bones of both wings and a partial leg. Also preserved are the delicate, spaghetti-thin hyoid bones that would have helped support a strong muscular tongue.
Adele Pentland
We can tell Haliskia was fully grown when he died because his shoulder bones, and others in the skeleton, are fused.
Nearly all pterosaur fossils described from Australia (incl Haliskia‘s contemporaries Mythunga camera, Aussiedraco molnari And Thapunngaka shawi) are placed in the same family. These species, collectively known as Anhangueria, have long been considered fish eaters.
Although fish fossils are often found in rocks located in the Eromanga Sea, squid-like cephalopods called belemnites are even more common. Based on HaliskiaWith its long hyoid bones and conical, interlocking teeth, it would have eaten a diet of fish and squid.
A labor of love
The Haliskia specimen was constructed by fossil enthusiast Kevin Petersen using a combination of pneumatic tools, the paleontological equivalent of a dentist’s drill, and a hand-wielded metal pin. The pterosaurs’ bones are flattened and although one surface is exposed, they remain encased in the rocks to provide stability and support to the fossil.
Kevin spent many hours preparing the pterosaur fossil. However, when we asked if he would like to join the team of researchers studying this specimen, he politely declined, saying he was happy simply to be recognized for his efforts.
Krokosaurus Korner
Without Kevin, this specimen would not be shown to the public or known to science. It only seemed fitting that this new species Haliskia peterseni named in honor of its discoverer.
There are more fossils to be found
This wasn’t the first pterosaur fossil Kevin had found. He discovered his first flying reptile fossil a few years earlier when he visited Richmond, Queensland, as a tourist.
Since the discovery of the Haliskia In 2021, more pterosaur fossils were found in the public digs outside Richmond.
Kevin is proof that you don’t need a degree to make a significant contribution to the science and field of paleontology. It takes dedication and determination – and it helps to be in the right place at the right time.
It takes some imagination to visualize pterosaurs at sea, hunting fish and squid-like creatures alongside enormous marine reptiles millions of years ago in what is now the arid Australian outback. But the process is made easier with the fossils in front of you.
Haliskia offers a tantalizing glimpse into an ancient ecosystem and offers hope that we may find more complete skeletons of these winged reptiles.