The –est Paleontology

‘Hidden dragon’ fossil is oldest flying reptile

The pterodactyl Kryptodrakon progenitor lived 163 million years ago

Fossil fragments of the flying reptile, Kryptodrakon progenitor, uncovered in northwest China, belong to the earliest known pterodactyl species, which lived about 163 million years ago.

Illustration courtesy of Brian Andres

By Meghan Rosen

- More than 2 years ago

Deep beneath an ash bed in an area of northwest China famed for its mud-filled “dinosaur death pits” that snared all sorts of prehistoric creatures, researchers have unearthed the oldest pterodactyl fossil ever discovered.