The pterosaur Maaradactylus has a wingspan of around 6m and is easy to recognize thanks to its unusual appearance – its jaws feature curved crests on both the upper and lower sections and contain rows of sharp teeth. Native to South America, the genus is named after the Brazilian legend Maara, a mystical woman who transformed into a monster with large teeth.
Discovery
Maaradactylus is one of the most recent dinosaur discoveries, with the first fossils unearthed in 2010, when a skull and several vertebrae were excavated from the Romualdo Formation in Ceara, Brazil. The remains were classified as a new genus four years later by Dr. Renan Bantim, although there is much more to learn about this dinosaur, as there have been no further finds since.
Paleoecology
Maaradactylus existed during the Early Cretaceous period around 110m years ago, sharing its environment with fellow pterosaur Cearadactylus. It had a piscivorous diet, darting down into the ocean to grab fish before flying to nests up on the cliffs away from predators.
