Vliegende T-Rex-fossielen gevonden in Australië, want dat waren ze natuurlijk

Scientists in Queensland, Australia have pieced together the most complete pterosaur fossil collection yet—a big-headed reptile  with a 12-foot wingspan they’ve named Ferrodraco lentoni, or “Butch’s Iron Dragon.”

“It’s kind of scary when you think their heads are disproportionately large, it would have had a skull maybe 60cm,” Adele Pentland from Swinburne University, the lead author on the study, told The Guardian. “To see it walking around on the ground it would have walked on four legs and looked really different to any kind of animal we have today.” You can check out an artist’s rendering of the derpy-looking lizard-bird here.

The field of dinosaur research is in a bit of a renaissance period, with some three dozen new species discovered this year alone. More importantly: of course a flying mini-T-Rex was found in Australia of all places. After all, this is the land of such natural wonders as mutant eel-sharks, birds that weaponize fire, projectile bull semen, human-sized jellyfish, and more strange spiders than anyone ever wants to hear about, except for that guy who was bit on the penis not once but twice (and still hasn’t gained any spider-penis super powers).

In that context, it’s frankly surprising that a flying T-Rex hadn’t been discovered there until now.

(Image via Luis Rey/Wikimedia Commons)