Fossil Provides Glimpse of Giant Flying Reptile

Soaring overhead in the Cretaceous skies with taut, leathery wings longer than a family car, it would have made an unnerving sight. Scientists who analyzed a fossil that lay in a German museum for years after its discovery have glimpsed for the first time one of the most imposing of the prehistoric flyers.

Lacusovagus magnificens, or "magnificent lake wanderer", is the largest toothless prehistoric flying reptile ever found. It was preserved in lake sediments from the Araripe basin in north-east Brazil, a site well-known for its excellently preserved fossils.

"Some of the previous examples we have from this family in China are just 60cm long - as big as the skull of the new species," said Mark Witton from the school of earth and environmental science at the University of Portsmouth.

Interpreting the fossil was difficult because of the unusual position in which it had lain. "Usually fossils like this are found lying on their sides but this one was lying on the roof of its mouth and had been rather squashed, which made even figuring out whether it had teeth difficult," Witton said.

The beast would have had a wingspan of around five meters and stood over a meter tall at the shoulder. Its wide mouth suggests it was able to tackle large prey.

Although large, Lacusovagus was smaller than some of the giant toothed flying reptiles, such as Quetzalcoatlus, which was the size of a Spitfire, with a wingspan of 11 or 12 meters.