''Azhdarcho'' is a genus of
azhdarchid
Azhdarchidae (from the Persian word , , a dragon-like creature in Persian mythology) is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the Late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebra apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the Early Cre ...
pterosaur
Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...
from the late
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
Period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
of the
Bissekty Formation
The Bissekty Formation (sometimes referred to as Bissekt) is a geologic formation and Lagerstätte which crops out in the Kyzyl Kum desert of Uzbekistan, and dates to the Late Cretaceous Period. Laid down in the mid to late Turonian, it is dated ...
(middle
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by t ...
stage,
about 92 million years ago) of
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, as well as the
Zhirkindek Formation of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. It is known from fragmentary remains including the distinctive, elongated neck vertebrae that characterizes members of the family
Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae (from the Persian word , , a dragon-like creature in Persian mythology) is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the Late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebra apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the Early Cret ...
, a family that includes many giant pterosaurs such as ''
Quetzalcoatlus
''Quetzalcoatlus'' is a genus of pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous period of North America (Maastrichtian stage); its members were among the largest known flying animals of all time. ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is a member of the Azhdarchidae, ...
''. The name ''Azhdarcho'' comes from the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
word ''
azhdar'' (), a dragon-like creature in
Persian mythology
Persian mythology or Iranian mythology (Persian:اساطیرشناسی ایرانی) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origi ...
. The
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
is ''Azhdarcho lancicollis''. The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''lancicollis'' is derived from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
words ''lancea'' (meaning "lance" or "spear") and ''collum'' ("neck").
History
![Azhdarchid pterosaur neck lengths](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Azhdarchid_pterosaur_neck_lengths.png)
The
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
remains of ''Azhdarcho'' were recovered in the
Kyzyl Kum
The Kyzylkum Desert ( uz, Qizilqum, Қизилқум, قىزىلقۇم; kk, Қызылқұм, Qyzylqūm, قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, i ...
desert (from the Taykarshinskaya unit of the
Bissekty Formation
The Bissekty Formation (sometimes referred to as Bissekt) is a geologic formation and Lagerstätte which crops out in the Kyzyl Kum desert of Uzbekistan, and dates to the Late Cretaceous Period. Laid down in the mid to late Turonian, it is dated ...
) by
Lev A. Nesov during expeditions to Central Asia in 1974–1981. The
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...
, given the catalog number ЦНИГРмузей 1/11915 (TsNIGRmuzey), consists of an anterior neck vertebra. Twelve
paratype
In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype nor a syntype). Of ...
s were referred, including several other neck vertebrae, elements from the wing and leg, and pieces of the jaw. These specimens, along with other vertebrate fossils collected during the expeditions, were deposited at the F.N. Chernyshev Central Geologic Exploration Museum in
St. Petersberg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
In his description of the type specimen of ''Azhdarcho lancicollis'', Nesov noted its distinctive neck vertebrae, which are extremely elongated and round in cross section at mid-length. He pointed out similar characteristics in several other pterosaurs, and used them to erect the new subfamily
Azhdarchinae, classified within the family
Pteranodontidae
The Pteranodontidae are a family of large pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Period of North America and Africa. The family was named in 1876 by Othniel Charles Marsh. Pteranodontids had a distinctive, elongated crest jutting from the rear of the head ( ...
. Nesov also referred ''Quetzalcoatlus'' and ''
Arambourgiania
''Arambourgiania'' is an extinct genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period (Maastrichtian stage) of Jordan, and possibly the United States.Harrell, T. Lynn Jr.; Gibson, Michael A.; Langston, Wann Jr. (2016). "A cervical ver ...
'' (then known as ''Titanopteryx'') to this subfamily, which was subsequently re-classified as the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae (from the Persian word , , a dragon-like creature in Persian mythology) is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the Late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebra apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the Early Cret ...
. He also suggested that similar, thin-walled pterosaur bones from the
Lance Formation
The Lance (Creek) Formation is a division of Late Cretaceous (dating to about 69 - 66 Ma) rocks in the western United States. Named after Lance Creek, Wyoming, the microvertebrate fossils and dinosaurs represent important components of the late ...
of
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
could be assigned to a species of ''Azhdarcho'', using this as evidence of commonalities between the fauna of Late Cretaceous central Asia and western North America. However, subsequent research has not followed this suggestion, and ''A. lancicollis'' is the only currently recognized species of ''Azhdarcho''.
Classification
Below is a
cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...
showing the phylogenetic placement of ''Azhdarcho'' within the clade
Neoazhdarchia
Azhdarchoidea (or azhdarchoids) is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea, more specifically within the group Ornithocheiroidea. Pterosaurs belonging to this group lived throughout the Early and Late Cretaceous periods, with o ...
, more specifically within the family Azhdarchidae, of which ''Azhdarcho'' is the
type genus
In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
Zoological nomenclature
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...
. The cladogram is based on a topology recovered by Brian Andres and Timothy Myers in 2013.
Paleoecology
![Azhdarcho pair](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Azhdarcho_pair.png)
In the original description of ''Azhdarcho'', Nesov noted that because of the way the vertebrae articulated, the pterosaur would have had very limited flexibility in the neck. ''Azhdarcho'' could not rotate its neck at all, though it could flex the neck vertically to a certain degree. Nesov suggested that pterosaurs like ''Azhdarcho'' may have fed in a manner similar to the modern
Skimmer, with their long necks allowing them to scoop prey from the water's surface and small depths without needing to dive. However, recent research has shown that skimming requires more energy and anatomical specializations than previously thought, and that large pterosaurs like ''Azhdarcho'' probably were not capable of skimming.
The long neck would also have allowed
azhdarchid
Azhdarchidae (from the Persian word , , a dragon-like creature in Persian mythology) is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the Late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebra apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the Early Cre ...
s to hunt for food in the water or on the bottom while swimming, or to hunt poorly flying vertebrates in the air, though Nesov also suggested that the animal would have needed stable weather conditions to fly well, and suggested azhdarchid habitats needed to be dominated by even, mild winds.
However studies by Mark Witton points to a different direction suggesting that azhdarchids in general were terrestrial stalkers.
See also
*
Timeline of pterosaur research
This timeline of pterosaur research is a chronologically ordered list of important fossil discoveries, controversies of interpretation, and taxonomic revisions of pterosaurs, the famed flying reptiles of the Mesozoic era. Although pterosaurs w ...
References
{{Portal bar, Paleontology, Cretaceous, Uzbekistan
Azhdarchids
Turonian life
Late Cretaceous pterosaurs of Asia
Fossils of Uzbekistan
Bissekty Formation
Fossil taxa described in 1984