Flying reptiles lived in Morocco 60 million years ago

Hicham boumejout

An international scientific team discovered three new types of flying reptiles called pterosaurs, which lived about 100 million years ago in the desert "km km" area, which lies southwest of Morocco with the Algerian border.

According to the study published in the journal Cretaceous Research on March 25, the length of these creatures that appeared on the planet about 250 million years ago and became extinct about 60 million years ago was up to four meters and was roaming and hunting their prey When the Sahara was a wet region.

"With this new discovery, the number of types of pterosaurs discovered in Morocco has become nine, identified by cutting the jaws and teeth that were found in the study," said researcher Samir Zuhri from Hassan II University in Casablanca. Geological layers of the Middle Cretaceous period in Morocco.

Mobility between Africa and America
"The remnants of these creatures are rare and many of them were discovered in Europe, South America and Asia. The remains discovered in Morocco are very important and exciting, because they will open new windows to study These types are special. "

And the researchers suggest that these creatures had a great flying power, because - thanks to their large wings - they were flying hundreds of kilometers, enabling them to reach areas of South America, just like the "condor" birds today.

It appears that one of this type - its scientific name "Anhanguera" - was known only in Brazil, and another named "Ornithocheirus" found only in England and Central Asia.

"This discovery confirms once again that the species that lived in Africa are the same as those that lived in Europe and America, and they also feed on fish like other pterosaurs in the world," Samir Zuhri said.

The "how many km" land remains
The researchers said that the remnants of these petrosaurs that were found were mainly in your jaws (jaw assembly) with bone bones, and they were acquired from the residents of the "spot" village in the "how many km" at the exit of Erfoud.

Where these residents used to go daily to the high mountains of the region to search for fossils and bone remains, then sell what is available to fossil traders or scientists who are constantly in the region.

Ibrahim Nizar, an assistant professor at the Institute of Biology at the University of Detroit Mercy, USA, said in a statement via e-mail to Al-Jazeera Net - "How many kilometers there is a distinct region? There were the remains of many dinosaurs and animals that lived in Africa a hundred million ago." Year, which is a unique region because it still preserves the remains of these large predators as well as small ones. "

He added that the problem that they currently face as researchers is that these remains are not complete, as until now they have not found complete remains of an animal, and this increases the difficulty of scientific research in this region, unlike the remains that were found in America.

As for the pterosaurs, their bones are known to be fragile, so the work on studying them is difficult, and despite that, they are achieving positive results, according to Nizar, who confirmed that there is one or two studies on the same topic that will be published during next April.