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The fossilised pterosaur bones were recovered on cattle stations in Boulia and Winton, approximately 355km apart.
It’s believed they date back to the early to mid-Cretaceous period; about 145 million years ago.
The first bone, a partial right femur, was discovered in 1991 during a field expedition and a second partial femur was found over a decade later around Winton.
In Australia, remains from these ancient flying reptiles are rare; to date, only four pterosaur species have been identified in Australia.
The new findings have been celebrated by researchers as they provide invaluable evidence into how reptiles interacted millions of years ago.
“However, the presence of two circular depressions on the pterosaur’s femur suggests it may have been bitten by a small crocodile.”
Most fearsome prehistoric predators — that weren’t dinosaurs
Despite being separated by hundreds of kilometres, the two leg bones were very similar to one other.
“These pterosaurs share commonalities to each other as well as to others found in Brazil,” Pentland said.
“At this time they were present on almost every continent and their similarities are a clear indication that they were incredibly successful animals.”
Outback Queensland is one of Australia’s richest sources of fossils.
Its remains were excavated from a sheep station near the Winton Formation in 2010.
Its last meal was a young dinosaur.
