Epapatelo
Epapatelo Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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Holotype humerus | |
Holotype ulna | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | †Pterosauria |
Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
Clade: | † Aponyctosauria
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Genus: | †Epapatelo Fernandes et al., 2022 |
Species: | †E. otyikokolo
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Binomial name | |
†Epapatelo otyikokolo Fernandes et al., 2022
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Epapatelo (meaning "wing") is a genus of
Discovery and naming
Since 2005, the
In 2022, the type species Epapatelo otyikokolo was named and described by Alexandra E. Fernandes, Octávio Mateus, Brian Andres, Michael J. Polcyn, Anne S. Schulp, António Olímpio, Gonçalves and Louis L. Jacobs. The scientific name is derived from Nhaneca, the language of the local nomadic population. The generic name, Epapatelo, means "wing", and the specific name, otyikokolo, means "lizard".[1]
The holotype, MGUAN-PA650, was found in a sandstone layer of the Mocuio Formation, a marine deposit dating from the early Maastrichtian, between 71.64 and 71.4 million years old. It consists of a partial left humerus articulated with a left ulna. The paratype, MGUAN-PA661, represents an articulated left ulna and radius. All of these bones are preserved three-dimensionally, without significant compression. They were recovered from a surface area of fifteen hectares. The plesiosaur Cardiocorax was also found in the Mocuio Formation.[1]
Description
The wingspan of the holotype was estimated at 4.8 m (16 ft). The paratype would have been a larger individual, at 5.6 m (18 ft). Some of the material found at Bentiaba suggests an even larger size. The fourth metacarpal of the holotype was extrapolated at about 46 cm (18 in) in length. Elsewhere in Angola, a partial manual digit IV has been found that is at least 83 cm (33 in).[1]
Classification
In their phylogenetic analyses, Fernandes et al. (2022) recovered Epapatelo as the
Pteranodontia |
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References
- ^ hdl:10362/145845.