Paleontologists recently discovered a new species of pterosaur, Nipponopterus mifunensis, from Japan's Late Cretaceous period. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that thrived throughout the Mesozoic Era. They were the first vertebrates to fly, using strong forelegs to launch into the air. Pterosaurs are not dinosaurs but are archosaurs, sharing a group with birds and crocodiles. The largest flying vertebrate, Quetzalcoatlus, was a pterosaur. They went extinct about 65.5 million years ago during the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Birds, descendants of dinosaurs, replaced pterosaurs as dominant flyers.
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