A groundbreaking discovery in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco has revealed the fossil of a previously unknown marine pterosaur with an exceptionally elongated neck, dating back 90 million years to the Cretaceous period. Named Collovis maris, the species possessed a neck nearly twice the length of its torso, a feature thought to be exclusive to plesiosaurs. The presence of salt-gland impressions in the skull confirms that this flying reptile was adapted to a fully pelagic, or open-ocean, lifestyle.
The specimen's wing structure suggests a highly specialized gliding capability, allowing it to stay airborne over vast oceanic distances for weeks at a time. This find upends current theories about pterosaur ecological niches, proving that they successfully competed with marine reptiles by hunting from the air and diving into the water. The fossils were found in a layer of sediment that once formed a coastal delta, providing a snapshot of a diverse prehistoric ecosystem where land, sea, and air predators converged.