An artist’s impression of the Thapunngaka shawi.
An artist's impression of the Thapunngaka shawi. Australia's largest flying reptile has been uncovered, a pterosaur with an estimated seven-metre wingspan that soared like a dragon above the ancient, vast inland sea once covering much of outback Queensland. University of Queensland PhD candidate Tim Richards , from the Dinosaur Lab in UQ's School of Biological Sciences , led a research team that analysed a fossil of the creature's jaw, discovered on Wanamara Country, near Richmond in North West Queensland. "It's the closest thing we have to a real-life dragon," Mr Richards said. "The new pterosaur, which we named Thapunngaka shawi, would have been a fearsome beast, with a spear-like mouth and a wingspan around seven metres. "It was essentially just a skull with a long neck, bolted on a pair of long wings. "This thing would have been quite savage.
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