The 2 brand-new types resided in Mongolia throughout the Late Cretaceous date, in between 96 and 90 million years back.

Called Gobiazhdarcho tsogtbaatari and Tsogtopteryx mongoliensisboth flying reptiles come from a cosmopolitan household of toothless, most likely terrestrial-foraging pterosaurs called Azhdarchidae.

“Pterosaurs, the very first vertebrate group to develop powered flight, show a fossil record extending from the Late Triassic to the Cretaceous-Paleogene limit, and a remarkable variety,” stated Shihezi University paleontologist Xuanyu Zhou and associates from the Museu de Zoologia da USP and Hokkaido University Museum.

“Within pterosaurs, Azhdarchidae represents a really specific clade. At present, it consists of a minimum of 17 small types.”

“Characterized generally by their extend cervical vertebrae with vestigial neural spinal columns, azhdarchids are a practically common existence in Turonian-Maastrichtian pterosaur assemblages worldwide, being the most varied and extensive group of pterosaurs throughout the Late Cretaceous.”

“Similar to other azhdarchoids, they sported edentulous jaws and appear to have actually been fairly terrestrial in way of life compared to other pterosaurs.”

“Azhdarchids are widely known specifically for consisting of the biggest flying animals ever, making up some massive types with 10-11-m-wingspans such as Quetzalcoatlus northropi Arambourgiania philadelphiaeand Hatzegopteryx thambemain addition to the 9-m-wingspan Thanatosdrakon amaru“

Type specimens of Gobiazhdarcho tsogtbaatari and Tsogtopteryx mongoliensis were gathered in the 1990s from 2 various regions of the Bayanshiree Formation (likewise spelled Bayan Shireh, Baynshire, Bayshiree, or Baysheen Shireh Formation), which lies in the eastern area of the Gobi Desert, in Mongolia.

“The Bayanshiree azhdarchids make up 2 specimens: the Bayshin Tsav azhdarchid (Tsogtopteryx mongoliensisrepresented by a nearly total mid-cervical; and the Burkhant azhdarchid (Gobiazhdarcho tsogtbaatariconsisting of an atlantoaxis, a cervical III, and a partial mid-cervical,” the paleontologists stated.

“These specimens were gathered by the Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences-Mongolian Paleontological Center Joint Paleontological Expedition in 1993 and 1995 from, respectively, the Bayshin Tsav and Burkhant regions.”

According to the group, Gobiazhdarcho tsogtbaatari represents a medium-sized (3.0-3.5 m in wingspan) early member of a Quetzalcoatlus—Arambourgiania family tree.

Tsogtopteryx mongoliensis is an early member of a Hatzegopteryx-family tree and, remarkably, appears to represent a little type under 2 m in wingspan.

“It is fascinating to keep in mind that Tsogtopteryx mongoliensis represents among the tiniest recognized azhdarchid types up until now, just behind the 1.6-m-wingspan Hornby azhdarchid, from the Campanian of Canada,” the scientists stated.

The discovery of these 2 brand-new types fills out essential temporal spaces in the evolutionary history of azhdarchid pterosaurs.

“Our outcomes shed fresh light on the variety and phylogeny of azhdarchid pterosaurs,” the researchers stated.

“They likewise strengthen the persisting pattern of co-existence in between numerous, differently-sized azhdarchid types from an exact same deposit.”

A paper on the findings was released online today in the journal PeerJ

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R.V. Pêgas et al2025. Azhdarchid pterosaur variety in the Bayanshiree Formation, Upper Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. PeerJ 13: e19711; doi: 10.7717/ peerj.19711