What is it about fossils that fascinate the scientific world? Perhaps it is the glimpse into the past a new discovery offers, or the magical panorama the world offers. To hope that even after death, living creatures can leave an imprint in the world is a tantalizing inspiration. Maybe the scientific community is captivated by archeology because it shows not all is lost, and not all is ravaged by time.

Fossil fanatics are most preoccupied with the fossilization of dinosaurs. The human race only occupies a minuscule portion of the earth’s history. As a result, curiosity plagues the thoughts of every scientific mind like a child wonders where babies come from: what existed before we did?

Since new species of dinosaurs are being discovered every year, it is difficult to proclaim an accurate number of how many there are. Not only species, but new discoveries also occur that lead archeologists to believe most dinosaurs may also have several families within their species. For example, a recently discovered fossil of the pterosaur, related to the pterodactyl, has influenced archeologists to declare a new genus within the species.

The abnormal size of the bird’s fossil is what set it apart. The fossil showed the bird to be larger than most family cars! Mark Witton, who made the discovery, estimates the bird-like creature had stood 1 meter with a 5 meter wingspan. Imagine seeing a bird that size flying through the sky on a regular basis! In comparison to this mega discovery, other pterosaur measure approximately 2 feet long, which compares only to the size of the skull on the new finding! The fact the fossil was discovered in Brazil is intriguing because it is the first of the species to be found outside of China.

Witton decided to dub his new discovery Lacusovagus, which means “lake wanderer”. He named the remains in recognition of the body of water he found them in. Unfortunately, rather than being found on its side or back, the fossil was positioned on the roof of its mouth. This regrettable happenstance makes it difficult for the fossil structure to be interpreted. Witton concluded that they would need to study a few more specimens to draw any reliable conclusions.

This new discovery proves it is unlikely everything about the world will ever be known. The human race makes up a microscopic portion of the world’s timeline. It is implausible we will ever have the leisure of knowing everything that happened and existed before our time.