A long-necked pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea,Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Valencia,Spain |
| |
| Authors: | Company Julio Ruiz-Omeñaca José Ignacio Pereda Suberbiola Xabier |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Colegio Universitario San Pablo C.E.U., Avenida seminario s/n, E-46113 Moncada, and;(2) Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Valencia, E-46100 Burjassot, Spain;(3) Universidad de Zaragoza, Area de Paleontología, E-50009 Zaragoza, Spain;(4) Laboratorio de Paleontología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Apartado 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain, and;(5) Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 8 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France |
| |
| Abstract: | Fragmentary remains, including cervical vertebrae and limb bones, of a large pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Tous, province of Valencia (Spain), are described. The material was recovered from lacustrine beds in the upper part of the Calizas y Margas de Sierra Perenchiza Formation, which is probably Maastrichtian in age. Six fragments of vertebrae allow a reconstruction of the anatomy of the mid-series cervicals of the animal. The general morphology of the cervical vertebrae is closely similar to that of the long-necked Azhdarchidae. Compared to other azhdarchids, the Valencia pterosaur shows minor differences from the genera Azhdarcho and Quetzalcoatlus, and is here provisionally referred to as Azhdarchidae indet. A wingspan of about 5.5 m is calculated by comparison with other known azhdarchids. This is the second azhdarchid pterosaur described from the Iberian peninsula. It confirms the wide distribution of this group of large pterosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous. |
| |
| Keywords: | Azhdarchidae Iberian peninsula Maastrichtian Pterosauria |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
