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Palaeontology

Ancient reptile named after 'Avatar' creature

By T.K. Randall
September 15, 2014 · Comment icon 7 comments

The fictional Ikran lived in Pandora's floating mountains. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Arne Huckelheim
A huge winged reptile from Earth's past is very similar to the flying creatures in the movie 'Avatar'.
Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of pterosaur that has been identified from fossils found in China dating back more than 120 million years.

The prehistoric winged reptile has been named Ikrandraco avatar after its resemblance to the flying creatures ridden by the blue-skinned Na'vi in James Cameron's hit movie Avatar.
The Ikran's real-life counterpart boasted a wingspan of up to 8ft and had a pouch beneath its throat similar to that of a pelican. It is believed to have fed primarily on fish by swooping low over lakes and rivers and scooping them up with its lower jaw.

"The head structure is similar in this pterosaur to the Ikran in 'Avatar,'" said paleontologist Xiaolin Wang. "Of course, nobody and nothing can ride this pterosaur."

Source: Yahoo! News | Comments (7)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by YukiEsmaElite0 10 years ago
So it's from the family Ikrandraco, and the species avatar? That's really just silly, no?
Comment icon #2 Posted by Paranomaly 10 years ago
I don't think it resembles the creatures from avatar at all. Some nerdy scientist was all like, let's name it after the avatar movie...
Comment icon #3 Posted by paperdyer 10 years ago
I don't think it resembles the creatures from avatar at all. Some nerdy scientist was all like, let's name it after the avatar movie... I've never seen the Avatar movie, but it the dinosaur resembles a pelican, should there be some reference to a pelican in the name?
Comment icon #4 Posted by MJNYC 10 years ago
How does that look like the reptile in Avatar? It's nothing like it. LOL
Comment icon #5 Posted by bubblykiss 10 years ago
I don't think it resembles the creatures from avatar at all. Some nerdy scientist was all like, let's name it after the avatar movie... I was wondering what context the name will be taught in after 200-300 years....assuming our civilization does not tumble into ruins long before then.
Comment icon #6 Posted by shrooma 10 years ago
I don't think it resembles the creatures from avatar at all. Some nerdy scientist was all like, let's name it after the avatar movie... . Taxonomy is littered with examples like this. . http://www.curioustaxonomy.net/etym/people.html . you discover something, you can pretty much name it after anything you want. Beyonce doesn't look particularly beetle-like, but she has one named after her..... .
Comment icon #7 Posted by ozman 10 years ago
Now we just need some element that is rare and resembles Unobtainium


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