US team discovers winged reptile that took powered flight with early dinosaurs

Researchers discovered the oldest pterosaur in North America, Eotephradactylus mcintireae, alongside 1,200 other fossils in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. The 209-million-year-old site captures a snapshot of the end-Triassic extinction, revealing a diverse ecosystem including giant amphibians, armored crocodile relatives, and the world's oldest turtle fossils. This discovery fills a crucial gap in the fossil record and provides insights into the transition to modern terrestrial vertebrate communities.