Scientists have identified a new species of pterosaur from a fossilised jawbone discovered deep in the Arizona desert. The find, in the Grand Canyon State's Petrified Forest National Park, marks the oldest-known pterosaur species in North America.

Scientists have discovered a new species of pterosaur – a flying reptile that soared above the dinosaurs more than 200 million years ago. The jawbone of the ancient reptile was unearthed in the US back in 2011, but modern scanning techniques have now revealed details showing that it belongs to an entirely new species.

The large flying reptiles known as pterosaur preyed on primitive fish that would have hard scale armour covering them.

Researchers have discovered a new species of pterosaur - a winged reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs 200 million years ago. Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History uncovered the fossilised jawbone of the creature in 2011,

The jawbone of the ancient reptile was unearthed in Arizona back in 2011, but modern scanning techniques have now revealed details showing that it belongs to a species new to science. The research team,