What had two thumbs and was wiggling them with abandon back in the Jurassic? According to a new paper published in the journal Current Biology, the “Monkeydactyl”. This new-to-science flying reptile species was described by an international team of researchers from China, Brazil, UK, Denmark, and Japan from a specimen recovered in the Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China. The discovery of
Kunpengopterus antipollicatus, to use its given scientific name, is a pivotal one, representing the earliest known evidence of true opposed thumbs as well as being the first time this feature has been found in a pterosaur.
The researchers on the study state that Monkeydactyl, as it has been dubbed, was lurking in treetops approximately 160 million years ago, likely as an arboreal pterosaur alive in the Jurassic. It’s a small member of the darwinopteran pterosaurs (named after the naturalist for their unique morphology, which informed how evolution shaped pterosaur anatomy over time), whose wingspan is thought to have been around 85 centimeters (33.5 inches). It’s not the breadth of this species that makes them notable, however, as at the end of these wings sat a pretty sophisticated piece of kit for a pterosaur: an opposed thumb. The snazzy appendage inspired Monkeydactyl’s given scientific name, as "antipollicatus" means "opposite thumbed" in ancient Greek. As the earliest record of a true opposed thumb in Earth’s history, it’s a worthy trait to inspire nomenclature and one that’s well-deserving of a thumbs up from all who enjoy them.