Azhdarcho
Azhdarcho | |
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Fragment of a right ulna | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | †Pterosauria |
Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
Family: | †Azhdarchidae |
Subfamily: | † Azhdarchinae , 1984
Nesov |
Genus: | †Azhdarcho Nesov, 1984 |
Species: | †A. lancicollis
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Binomial name | |
†Azhdarcho lancicollis Nesov, 1984
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Azhdarcho
History
The
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
Classification
Below is a
Neoazhdarchia
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Paleobiology
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
See also
References
- ^ Averianov, A.O. (2010). "The osteology of Azhdarcho lancicollis Nessov, 1984 (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan" (PDF). Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 314 (3): 246–317.
- ^ Khan, Amina (August 19, 2014). "Toothless 'dragon' pterosaurs once ruled skies worldwide, study says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ^ a b Nesov, L. A. (1984). "Upper Cretaceous pterosaurs and birds from Central Asia". Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal (1): 47–57. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012.
- ISBN 0-13-146308-X.
- S2CID 84617119.
- PMID 17676976.
- ^ Naish, Darren (December 15, 2013). "Were azhdarchid pterosaurs really terrestrial stalkers? The evidence says yes, yes they (probably) were". Scientific American. Retrieved January 30, 2021.