A set of neoazhdarchian pterosaur footprints found in South Korea is providing a uncommon glimpse into how a few of the largest flying reptiles might have hunted on land.
Life reconstruction drawing of Jinjuichnus procerus and tetrapod trackmakers. The neoazhdarchian trackmaker is following the small vertebrate. Picture credit score: Jun Seung Yi.
Pterosaurs, the primary vertebrates to attain powered flight, are sometimes imagined hovering above historical seas.
However for many years, paleontologists have argued that some pterosaur species additionally spent appreciable time on the bottom, stalking prey like fashionable wading birds.
Direct proof of such habits, nevertheless, has been elusive.
“Pterosaurs have been key elements of Mesozoic ecosystems, thriving from the Late Triassic to the tip of the Cretaceous,” mentioned Dr. Jongyun Jung, a researcher on the College of Texas at Austin and Korea Dinosaur Analysis Middle at Chonnam Nationwide College, and colleagues.
“They occupied a variety of ecological niches and exhibited numerous dietary variations.”
“Specifically, Neoazhdarchia, which incorporates thalassodromids, chaoyangopterids, and azhdarchids, has been inferred to symbolize predominantly terrestrial carnivorous hunters, based mostly on anatomical options, practical morphology, and different related fossil information.”
“These interpretations have instructed that some teams might have employed searching methods akin to extant terrestrial stalkers, corresponding to storks or cranes.”
“Nonetheless, the fossil report has to date lacked direct proof of terrestrial predation in pterosaurs.”
Jinjuichnus procerus trackway and related small vertebrate trackways preserved on a single slab. Picture credit score: Jung et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-48019-y.
The newly-described footprints, preserved in 106-million-year-old rock within the Jinju Formation, might assist fill this hole.
Assigned to a brand new ichnogenus and species, Jinjuichnus procerus, these massive, asymmetrical impressions with elongated digits have been left by a neoazhdarchian pterosaur.
The flying reptile’s footprints run in shut proximity to a separate set of tracks seemingly made by a small, ground-dwelling animal — presumably a salamander or lizard — elevating the opportunity of a prehistoric pursuit.
The animal’s trackway exhibits an abrupt change in path and a noticeable enhance in stride size, suggesting a sudden burst of velocity.
On the similar time, the pterosaur seems to have been transferring comparatively shortly for its measurement, round 0.8 m/sec.
That is according to the speculation that neoazhdarchians have been well-adapted terrestrial predators.
Nevertheless, a coincidental affiliation between the 2 trackways can’t be dominated out.
“This affiliation supplies the potential ichnological proof of terrestrial vertebrate interplay by a pterosaur,” the paleontologists mentioned.
“Nonetheless, another interpretation of the 2 trackways stays doable, making it troublesome to verify any direct interplay between the trackmakers.”
“The paired trackways provide perception into the elements to think about when evaluating potential interactions with the trackmaker.”
“Whereas situations corresponding to predation stay ambiguous, they nonetheless spotlight the interpretive complexity inherent in assessing behavioral associations preserved in trackway assemblages.”
The group’s paper was printed within the journal Scientific Reviews.
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J. Jung et al. 2026. New massive pterosaur tracks from Korea and their implications on terrestrial habits. Sci Rep 16, 12363; doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-48019-y
