Nearly 50 skeletons of a new species of ancient flying reptile have been unearthed in southern Brazil, an "absolutely unprecedented" discovery, one expert says.

Varying ages of the newfound species, dubbed Caiuajara dobruskii, fill the rare boneyard, which was once part of a desert lake in the late Cretaceous period, about 100 million to 66 million years ago. With a wingspan of up to 7.7 feet (2.35 meters) C. dobruskii had a head that was shaped differently from those of other pterosaurs, including a bony protrusion in front of its eyes. (See "New Golden Age for Pterosaurs, Flying Reptiles of the Dinosaur Era.")

The discovery offers the "best evidence ever uncovered" that the extinct dinosaur-era animals, called