Paleontologists Discover Near-Perfect 152 Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil

Paleontologists extracted a 152 million-year-old dinosaur fossil found in near-perfect condition.

The fossil was initially discovered in 2014, but it was just recently reported about in the journal Fossil Records, in a paper titled, “The geologically oldest specimen of a Pterodactylus: a new exquisitely preserved skeleton from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Plattenkalk deposits of Painten (Bavaria, Germany).”

The fossil is believed to be from a Pterodactylus, the first described and named pterosaur, a species of flying reptile thought to exist some 228 million to 66 million years ago, according to the journalZitteliana.

While other fossils from the Pterodactylus have been found, this one is special for two different reasons. For starters, it’s in excellent condition.

Scientists described the specimen in the paper, writing: “The specimen is a complete, articulated and exquisitely preserved skeleton of a small-sized individual.”

Secondly, the specimen is thought to be around one million years older than previously found Pterodactylus fossils.

The paper notes that the fossil was discovered in Painten, a Municipality in Germany. Researchers spent some 120 hours extracting the fossil before it could be anazlyed be scientists.

German-based scientists from the University of Tübingen and Dinosaurier Museum Altmühltal worked on the fossil and made the unique discoveries about it.