Cretornis
Cretornis | |
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Partial wing of Cretornis hlavaci | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | †Pterosauria |
Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
Clade: | † Nyctosauromorpha
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Genus: | †Cretornis Frič, 1881 |
Type species | |
†Cretornis hlavaci Frič, 1881 | |
Synonyms | |
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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
Today, the holotype fossils of this pterosaur are stored in the National Museum in Prague. There is also unconfirmed information that similar bones (perhaps also pterosaur bones) were found in other places around the quarry before and during this discovery, but later they were apparently lost.
Afterwards it was realized that the find represented some pterosaur. The name was incorrectly emended by Richard Lydekker into Ornithochirus hlavatschi Fritsch 1881, in 1888.[3] As scientific species names are not allowed to contain diacritical signs, the specific name had to be transcribed. Lydekker chose to write it as if it, and Frič himself, were German, as Bohemia at the time was under a strong German cultural influence. Frič, an ethnic Czech, in 1905 ultimately used the correct transcription Ornithocheirus hlavaci.[4][5]
Since 1905, the taxon was typically considered a nomen dubium.[6] In 2010 however, Russian paleontologist Alexandr Averianov concluded that it should be possible to determine unique traits.[7] In 2015 he and Czech paleontologist Boris Ekrt published a new description, concluding that Cretornis was a valid taxon.[8]
Cretornis is known from the
Description
Based on comparison with its relatives, the wingspan of C. hlavaci has by Averianov been estimated at 1.5 to 1.6 meters (4.9 to 5.2 ft).[8] The humerus is 76 millimeters (3 in) in length.[7]
In 2015, Averianov indicated a single autapomorphy, unique derived trait: the distal part of the humerus has a diamond-shaped cross-section.[8]
Classification
Cretornis was classified as a species in the genus
Pteranodontoidea |
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See also
References
- ^ "Druhohorní plazi v Čechách III". July 22, 2015.
- ^ Fritsch, A., 1880, "Ueber die Entdeckung von Vogelresten in der böhmischen Kreideformation (Cretornis Hlaváči)", Sitzungsberichte der königlichen-böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften in Prag 1880: 275–276
- ^ R. Lydekker. 1888. Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I, Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamata, Rhynchocephalia, and Proterosauria. British Museum (Natural History), London 309 pp
- ^ A. Fritsch und F. Bayer, 1905, Neues Fische und Reptilien aus der böhmischen Kreideformation, Prag, Selbstverlag
- ^ Fritsch A., 1905, "Synopsis der Saurier der böhmischen Kreideformation", Sitzungsberichte der koeniglich-boehmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse. 8: 1–7.
- ^ A. Fritsch. (1905). Neue Reptilien aus der böhmischen Kreideformation [New reptiles from the Bohemian Cretaceous formation]. In A. Fritsch & F. Bayer (ed.), Neue Fische und Reptilien aus der Böhmischen Kreideformation [New Fishes and Reptiles from the Bohemian Cretaceous Formation] 13-34
- ^ a b c d Averianov, A.O. (2010). "The osteology of Azhdarcho lancicollis Nessov, 1984 (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan." Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 314(3): 246–317.
- ^ .
- ^ Jianu C-M., Weishampel D.B., Stiuca E., 1997, "Old and new pterosaur material from the Hateg basin (Late Cretaceous) of western Romania, and comments about pterosaur diversity in the Late Cretaceous of Europe", Abstracts of the Second European Workshop on Vertebrate Palaeontology
- PMID 29534059.