A new species of 'toothy' pterodactyl with vampire-like fangs soared above the Utah desert 200 million years ago, new fossils have revealed.

The newly-discovered reptile is named Caelestiventus hanseni – Latin for 'heavenly wind' – and had a wingspan of five feet (1.5 metres), making it the biggest example of an early pterodactyl species.

Caelestiventus hanseni (C. hanseni) lived between 201 and 210 million years ago beside a lake in Utah, during a time when North America was much hotter and drier than it is today.

Until now, the only other known pterodactyl, or pterosaur, from this age came from the coasts of Europe, including the UK and Greenland.

The new fossil predates all known 'desert pterosaurs' by more than 65 million years. 

The latest finding shows the earliest pterodactyls were geographically widely distributed and ecologically diverse – even able to thrive in harsh desert environments.

It may explain how they survived a mass extinction, which also fell around 200 million years ago and killed-off half of the world's species.

A new species of 'toothy' pterodactyl with vampire-like fangs soared above the Utah desert 200 million years ago, a new fossil reveals (artist's impression)

The pterodactyls were were remarkably successful, ruling the skies for over 160 million years.

They were the second animals after insects to evolve powered flight – not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air.

A dramatic shift in the carbon cycle 200 million years ago, which scientists say was triggered by a series of massive volcanic eruptions, led to a sustained period of climate change.

Many types of animal died out, including other reptiles, large amphibians and reef-building creatures – however, pterodactyls survived.

Scientists believe the new fossil, found at Saints and Sinners Quarry outside Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, might hold the secret to their success.

'In the latest Triassic, this area of North America was more arid and hot than it is today, indicating C. hanseni could cope with extreme desert conditions,' said palaeontologist Professor Brooks Britt, who is the lead researcher from Brigham Young University in Utah.

This shows ptersaurs could tolerate a variety of environmental conditions and therefore would have been more resilient to sudden changes of climate, according to the paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. 

This ancient creature had a pelican style pouch, which it could use to store the prey it snatched. The primitive 'beak bag' was also used to attract potential mates – and emit throaty high pitched calls

Huge bony sockets show it had around half a dozen 'fang like' teeth in the front of its mouth and at least three dozen pairs of smaller ones

The bones from the fossil belonged to a single individual, possibly a juvenile, that died in the water and sank to the bottom, becoming entombed in silty, fine sandstone

'Triassic pterosaurs are extraordinarily rare and all but one specimen come from marine deposits in the Alps,' said Professor Britt.

'Caelestiventus hanseni shows the earliest pterosaurs were geographically widely distributed and ecologically diverse, even living in harsh desert environments.'

This ancient creature had a pelican style pouch, which it could use to store the prey it snatched. 

The primitive 'beak bag' was also used to attract potential mates – and emit throaty high pitched calls.

The find shows ptersaurs (stock image) could tolerate a variety of environmental conditions and therefore would have been more resilient to sudden changes of climate, according to the paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution 

Pterodactyls were the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight – not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air. Pictured is a pterodactyl in the 1993 American science-fiction adventure film Jurrasic Park

Scientists believe the new fossil, found at Saints and Sinners Quarry outside Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, might hold the secret to their success

WHAT WERE PTEROSAURS?

Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles who ruled the skies in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Scientists have long debated where pterosaurs fit on the evolutionary tree.

The leading theory today is that pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and crocodiles are closely related and belong to a group known as archosaurs, but this is still unconfirmed.

artist's impression

Neither birds nor bats, pterosaurs were reptiles who ruled the skies in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (artist's impression pictured)

Pterosaurs evolved into dozens of species. Some were as large as an F-16 fighter jet, and others as small as a sparrow.

They were the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight - not just leaping or gliding, but flapping their wings to generate lift and travel through the air.

Pterosaurs had hollow bones, large brains with well-developed optic lobes, and several crests on their bones to which flight muscles attached. 

Huge bony sockets show it had around half a dozen 'fang like' teeth in the front of its mouth and at least three dozen pairs of smaller ones.

A projecting rim on the lower jaw suggests C. hanseni had a throat pouch 'similar to those of modern day pelicans,' said Professor Britt.

'A gular pouch may also function in visual display and vocal communication, as in male frigate birds or the flying lizard Draco.'

The bones from the fossil belonged to a single individual, possibly a juvenile, that died in the water and sank to the bottom, becoming entombed in silty, fine sandstone. 

Some pterosaurs had wingspans of up to 35 feet (10 metres) – as big as a fighter jet – while others were as small as a sparrow (artist's impression)

Professor Britt said: 'Based on skull length and estimated wing span, C. hanseni is one of the largest Triassic pterosaurs, if not the largest.' 

Some pterosaurs had wingspans of up to 35 feet (10 metres) – as big as a fighter jet – while others were as small as a sparrow. 

Pterosaurs had hollow bones, large brains with well-developed optic lobes, and several crests on their bones to which flight muscles attached.

The fossil record of pterosaurs, which lived alongside the dinosaurs but were unrelated to birds, is patchy.

Their bones were fragile and few of the creatures lived in places where fossils form easily, making pterosaur finds rare.

WHEN WERE EARTH'S 'BIG FIVE' EXTINCTION EVENTS?

Traditionally, scientists have referred to the 'Big Five' mass extinctions, including perhaps the most famous mass extinction triggered by a meteorite impact that brought about the end of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. 

But the other major mass extinctions were caused by phenomena originating entirely on Earth, and while they are less well known, we may learn something from exploring them that could shed light on our current environmental crises.

1. The Late Ordovician: This ancient crisis around 445m years ago saw two major waves of extinction, both caused by climate change associated with the advance and retreat of ice sheets in the southern hemisphere. This makes it the only major extinction to be linked to global cooling. 
2. The Late Devonian: This period is now regarded as a number of 'pulses' of extinction spread over 20m years, beginning 380m years ago. This extinction has been linked to major climate change, possibly caused by an eruption of the volcanic Viluy Traps area in modern-day Siberia. A major eruption might have caused rapid fluctations in sea levels and reduced oxygen levels in the oceans.
3. The Middle Permian:  Scientists have recently discovered another event 262m years ago that rivals the 'Big Five' in size. This event coincided with the Emeishan eruption in what's now China, and is known to have caused simultaneous extinctions in the tropics and higher latitudes.
4. The Late Permian: The Late Permian mass extinction around 252m years ago dwarfs all the other events, with about 96% of species becoming extinct. The extinction was triggered by a vast eruption of the Siberian Traps, a gigantic and prolonged volcanic event that covered much of modern day Siberia, which led to a cascade of environmental effects.
5. The Late Triassic: The Late Triassic event, 201m years ago, shares a number of similarities with the Late Permian event. It was caused by another large-scale eruption, this time of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, which heralded the splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea and the initial opening of what would later become the Atlantic Ocean.