‘Monkeydactyl’ may be the oldest known creature with opposable thumbs

‘Monkeydactyl’ may be the oldest known creature with opposable thumbs

Future Jurassic Park films could feature one weird new beast in the menagerie: a pterosaur nicknamed Monkeydactyl for its opposable thumbs.This flying reptile from the Jurassic Period may be the earliest known animal that could touch the insides of its thumbs to the insides of its other fingers, researchers report online April 12 in Current Biology. Such dexterity probably allowed Monkeydactyl to climb trees about 160 million years ago, perhaps …

“Monkeydactyl” – Strange New Jurassic Flying Reptile Reveals the Oldest Opposable Thumbs

A new 160-million-year-old arboreal pterosaur species, dubbed ‘Monkeydactyl’, has the oldest true opposed thumb — a novel structure previously not known in pterosaurs. An international...The post “Monkeydactyl” – Strange New Jurassic Flying Reptile Reveals the Oldest Opposable Thumbs appeared first on SciTechDaily.

The secret to this 100 million year old flying dinosaur has been revealed by Portsmouth scientists

IS IT a bird? Is it a giraffe? No - it’s the flying dinosaur at the centre of a 100 million year mystery solved by Portsmouth scientists.

Scientists discover the "Monkeydactyl" — a Jurassic-era flying dinosaur with opposable thumbs

The discovery marks the earliest known record of a true opposed thumb in Earth's history.

Explained: What is Monkeydactyl, the flying reptile with the ‘oldest opposable thumbs’?

The new pterosaur fossil was discovered in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China, and is believed to be 160 million years old.