Researchers were able to date the fossil of the flying reptile, a close cousin of dinosaurs, back to more than 209 million years ago.

The 209-million-year-old fossil offers clues to the evolution of the reptiles, which have more than 150 named species including the well-known pterodactyl.

A single deposit has produced a wealth of fossils revealing the late Triassic ecosystem, where giant amphibians cohabited with newcomers, including turtles and pterosaurs. The 12 million years leading up to the end-Triassic extinction have been relatively poorly represented in the fossil record,