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Barbaridactylus
''Barbaridactylus'' is a Nyctosauridae, nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, a basin that dates back to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It was published in 2018 in paleontology, 2018 by paleontologists Nicholas R. Longrich, David M. Martill, and Brian Andres. In the same publication, two other nyctosaurids from the same basin were described: ''Alcione elainus, Alcione'' and ''Simurghia''. The type species, type and only species is ''B. grandis''. Discovery and naming All known specimens of ''Barbaridactylus'' were uncovered in a 3-year dig that unearthed about 200 pterosaur specimens. Its type specimen is FSAC-OB 232, which consists of its right femur, left radius, ulna, humerus, and scapulocoracoid, and partial mandible. Four other specimens have been referred to ''Barbaridactylus'', FSAC-OB 8, 9, 10, and 11. They are all humeri. ''Barbaridactylus'' is named after the Barbary Coast of North Africa, and the Greek ''dactylo'', meaning "fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbaridactylus Humerus - Longrich Et Al 2018
''Barbaridactylus'' is a nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, a basin that dates back to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It was published in 2018 by paleontologists Nicholas R. Longrich, David M. Martill, and Brian Andres. In the same publication, two other nyctosaurids from the same basin were described: ''Alcione'' and ''Simurghia''. The type and only species is ''B. grandis''. Discovery and naming All known specimens of ''Barbaridactylus'' were uncovered in a 3-year dig that unearthed about 200 pterosaur specimens. Its type specimen is FSAC-OB 232, which consists of its right femur, left radius, ulna, humerus, and scapulocoracoid, and partial mandible. Four other specimens have been referred to ''Barbaridactylus'', FSAC-OB 8, 9, 10, and 11. They are all humeri. ''Barbaridactylus'' is named after the Barbary Coast of North Africa, and the Greek ''dactylo'', meaning "finger". The proper word for "finger" in Ancient Greek however, is ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcione Elainus
''Alcione'' is a genus of nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, dating back to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period. Only one species, ''A. elainus'', is known. This pterosaur lived in a marine environment alongside several other pterosaurs, including the nyctosaurids ''Simurghia'' and ''Barbaridactylus''. Discovery and naming All known specimens of ''Alcione'' were uncovered in a 3-year dig that unearthed about 200 pterosaur specimens. The type specimen, FSAC-OB 2, consists of a partial skeleton that preserves various elements, including the femur, humerus, scapulocoracoid, and sternum. Referred specimens include FSAC-OB 217, which consists of metacarpal IV, FSAC-OB 156, a mandible, and the more complete FSAC-OB 4. This specimen consists of the humerus, radius, ulna, a partial metacarpal IV, phalanx IV-1, scapulocoracoids, and synsacra. ''Alcione'' is named after Alcyone, who was transformed into a seabird, from Greek mythology. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simurghia
''Simurghia'' is a genus Nyctosauridae, nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, a basin that dates to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago. It was published in 2018 in paleontology, 2018 by paleontologists Nicholas R. Longrich, David M. Martill, and Brian Andres, along with two other nyctosaurids from the same basin: ''Alcione elainus, Alcione'' and ''Barbaridactylus''. The type species, type and only species is ''S. robusta''. Discovery and naming All known specimens of ''Simurghia'' were uncovered in a 3-year dig that unearthed about 200 pterosaur specimens. The type specimen, FSAC-OB 7, consists of a nearly complete humerus, lacking only the humeral head and the ulnar crest. ''Simurghia'' is named after a flying beast from Persian mythology known as the Simurgh. The species name, ''S. robusta'', is a Latin word that means "robust." Classification Below is a cladogram showing the results of a phylogenetic ana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyctosauridae
Nyctosauridae (meaning "night lizards" or "bat lizards") is a family of specialized soaring pterosaurs of the late Cretaceous Period of North America, Africa, and possibly Europe. It was named in 1889 by Henry Alleyne Nicholson and Richard Lydekker.Nicholson, H.A. and Lydekker, R. (1889). ''A manual of palaeontology for the use of students: with a general introduction on the principles of palæontology, Volume II''. Blackwood, 1889. Nyctosaurids are characterized by their lack of all but the wing finger. In most pterosaurs, the hand has four fingers, with the fourth elongated to support the wing, and the remaining three are usually small, clawed, and used in walking or climbing. The lack of functional fingers in nyctosaurids may suggest that they spent almost all of their time in the air, rarely walking on the ground. Nyctosaurids also possessed a distinctively enlarged crest for muscle attachment on their upper arm bone, or humerus, the ''deltopectoral crest'', hatchet shaped li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tethydraco Regalis
''Tethydraco'' is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (Maastrichtian stage) of what is now the area of present Morocco, about 66 million years ago. ''Tethydraco'' was originally assigned to the family Pteranodontidae. Subsequently described material suggested that it was an azhdarchid, and possibly synonymous with ''Phosphatodraco''. The type and only species is ''T. regalis''. Discovery and naming Since 2015, a group of paleontologists has been acquiring pterosaur fossils from commercial Moroccan fossil traders, who obtain these from workers in the phosphate mines on the Khouribga plateau, which is located within the Ouled Abdoun Basin. The purpose of this project is to determine pterosaur diversity in the latest Cretaceous. From this stage, no Konservat-Lagerstätten are known, sites combining a large variety of species with exceptional preservation. It is in such sites that the vast majority of pterosaur fossils and taxa have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyctosaurus
''Nyctosaurus'' (meaning "night lizard" or "bat lizard") is a genus of nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of what is now the Niobrara Formation of the mid-western United States, which, during the time ''Nyctosaurus'' was alive, was covered in an extensive shallow sea. Some remains belonging to a possible ''Nyctosaurus'' species called ''N.lamegoi'' have been found in Brazil, making ''Nyctosaurus'' more diverse. The genus ''Nyctosaurus'' has had numerous species referred to it, though how many of these may actually be valid requires further study. At least one species possessed an extraordinarily large antler-like cranial crest. ''Nyctosaurus'' was a mid-sized pterosaur that lived along the shores of the Niobrara Formation of the United States, which back then was within a large inland sea called the Western Interior Seaway. It has been suggested that it would have flown similar to modern-day soaring birds such as albatrosses, which consisted of flying very lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volgadraco Bogolubovi
''Volgadraco'' ("Volga River dragon") is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of European Russia. ''Volgadraco'' was originally classified as an azhdarchid. However, recent studies have concluded that it may belong to either the family Nyctosauridae, or the family Pteranodontidae. ''Volgadraco'' is known from lower beak (holotype SGU, no. 46/104a) and postcranial fragments from the early Campanian-age Rybushka Formation of Saratov, Russia. The size of this animal, and the development of blood supply in the lower jaw are intermediate between older Santonian or Turonian azhdarchids like ''Azhdarcho'' and '' Bakonydraco'' and later Maastrichtian azhdarchids like ''Quetzalcoatlus''. ''Volgadraco'' was described in 2008 by Averianov, Arkhangelsky, and Pervushov. The type species is ''V. bogolubovi'', the specific name honouring Russian paleontologist Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov. The authors consider the earlier named genus ''Bogolubovia'' to be a ''nomen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alamodactylus Byrdi
''Alamodactylus'' is an extinct genus of nyctosaurid pteranodontoid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Texas, southern United States. It contains a single species, ''Alamodactylus byrdi''. Discovery ''Alamodactylus'' is known solely from its holotype, SMU 76476, a partial left wing first described by Myers (2010).Myers, T.S., 2010, "Earliest occurrence of the Pteranodontidae (Archosauria: Pterosauria) in North America: New material from the Austin Group of Texas", ''Journal of Paleontology'' 84(6): 1071–1081 This specimen is crushed and consists of a left humerus, the distal end of the fourth wing metacarpal and the proximal end of the first wing phalanx of fourth digit. Other elements of the holotype first reported by Andres and Myers (2013) include a left proximal syncarpal, manual phalanx, and some fragments including four tapering processes that may represent skull bones, an articular surface that appears to be the mandible articulation of the right quadrate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodontia
Pteranodontia is an extinct group of ornithocheiroid pterodactyloid pterosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (Coniacian to Maastrichtian stages) of North America and Africa. They were some of the most advanced pterosaurs, and possessed highly specialized cranial crests that may have served as sexual attraction, with males having a much larger crest. Classification Pteranodontia was originally named by Marsh in 1876. In 2003, it was given a phylogenetic definition by David Unwin as the common ancestor of ''Pteranodon'' and ''Nyctosaurus'' plus all its descendants. Though Marsh had originally named this group based on the shared absence of teeth in those species, most analyses show that all of the traditional "ornithocheiroid" pterosaurs are also members of this clade. Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic placement of this group from Andres and Myers (2013). In 2018, Longrich, Martill, and Andres revisited the classification, and made a different phylogen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pteranodontoidea
Pteranodontoidea (or pteranodontoids, from Greek meaning "toothless wings") is an extinct clade of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs from the Early to Late Cretaceous (early Valanginian to late Maastrichtian stages) of Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. It was named by Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner in 1996. In 2003, Kellner defined the clade as a node-based taxon consisting of the last common ancestor of ''Anhanguera'', ''Pteranodon'' and all its descendants. The clade Ornithocheiroidea is sometimes considered to be the senior synonym of Pteranodontoidea, however it depends on its definition.Unwin, D. M., (2003): On the phylogeny and evolutionary history of pterosaurs. pp. 139-190. — ''in'' Buffetaut, E. & Mazin, J.-M., (eds.): ''Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs''. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 217, London, 1-347 Brian Andres (2008, 2010, 2014) in his analyses, converts Ornithocheiroidea using the definition of Kellner (2003) to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithocheiroidea
Ornithocheiroidea (or ornithocheiroids) is a group of pterosaurs within the extinct suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were typically large pterosaurs that lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods (Valanginian to Maastrichtian stages), with fossil remains found all over the world except Antarctica. Ornithocheiroids were the most advanced group of pterosaurs, as the group includes the clade Azhdarchoidea, of which its members lived until the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago. Notable pterosaurs from this group include the pteranodontians ''Pteranodon'' and ''Nyctosaurus'', the ornithocheirid ''Ornithocheirus'', the anhanguerid ''Tropeognathus'', as well as the azhdarchids ''Hatzegopteryx'' and ''Quetzalcoatlus''. Classification The name Ornithocheiroidea was originally defined as an apomorphy-based taxon by Christopher Bennett in 1994. It was given a relationship-based definition in 2003 by Alexander Kellner, who defined it as the least in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretornis Hlavaci
''Cretornis'' is a pterosaur genus from the late Cretaceous period (Turonian stage) of what is now the Jizera Formation in the Czech Republic, dating to about 92 million years ago. It only contains a single species, ''Cretornis hlavaci''. Discovery and naming The fossils were discovered in 1880 by workers at a quarry in Zářecká Lhota near the town of Choceň, who were getting gravel to repair a local road. A certain Mrs. Tomková, a croupier from Choceň, then alerted František Hlaváč, a Choceň pharmacist and fossil collector, to the find. He recognised exceptionality of that one, secured the rest of the fossils and then sent them to naturalist Professor Antonín Frič in Prague. In 1881, Antonín Frič identified it as a pterosaur and named it as the type species ''Cretornis Hlaváči''. The generic name is derived from Latin ''creta'', "chalk", in reference to the Cretaceous, and Greek ὄρνις, ''ornis'', "bird", as Frič originally thought that the fossil bones ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
