Preondactylus
Preondactylus Temporal range: Late Triassic, Carnian or Norian
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Fossil cast | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | †Pterosauria |
Clade: | † Preondactylia
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Genus: | †Preondactylus Wild, 1984 |
Species: | †P. bufarinii
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Binomial name | |
†Preondactylus bufarinii Wild, 1984
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Preondactylus is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs from the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian[1] or late Norian,[2] about 217-214 million years ago)[3] that inhabited what is now Italy. It contains a single known species, Preondactylus buffarinii, which was discovered by Nando Buffarini in 1982 at the Forni Dolostone near Udine in the Preone valley of the Italian Alps.[4]
Discovery
When Buffarini first discovered Preondactylus, the thin slab of
A second, disarticulated specimen, MFSN-1891, was found at the same locale in 1984 about 150–200 meters (490–650 ft) deeper into the strata than the original find. The second specimen appears to have been preserved in the gastric pellet of a predatory fish, which had consumed the pterosaur and vomited up the indigestible pieces that would later fossilize.[4] More detailed knowledge of the variability of Triassic pterosaurs has made the identification of this specimen as Preondactylus uncertain, and it may even be that the remains are not those of a pterosaur at all.
A third specimen is MFSN 25161, a partial skull, lacking the lower jaws.
Description
Preondactylus had single
Phylogeny
The species was described and named by
The following phylogenetic analysis follows the topology of Upchurch et al. (2015).[6]
Eopterosauria |
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See also
References
- ^ Paul G.S. The Princeton Field Guide to Pterosaurs (Princeton University Press, 2022), p. 98
- ^ Barrett, P. M., Butler, R. J., Edwards, N. P., & Milner, A. R. (2008). Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas. Zitteliana, 61-107. [1]
- ^ Müller R.T., Ezcurra M.D., Garcia M.S., Agnolín F.L., Stocker M.R., Novas F.E., Soares M.B., Kellner A.W.A. & Nesbitt S.J. (2023). ”New reptile shows dinosaurs and pterosaurs evolved among diverse precursors”. Nature 620(7974): p. 589–594. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06359-z
- ^ a b c d "Preondactylus." In: Cranfield, Ingrid (ed.). The Illustrated Directory of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures. London: Salamander Books, Ltd. Pp. 284-285.
- S2CID 91112389.
- PMID 26339122.
Literature
- Wild, R (1984). "A new pterosaur (Reptilia, Pterosauria) from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Friuli, Italy". Gortiana — Atti Museo Friuliano di Storia Naturale. 5: 45–62.
- Dalla Vecchia, F.M.; Muscio, G.; Wild, R. (1988). "Pterosaur remains in a gastric pellet from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Rio Seazza Valley (Udine, Italy)". Gortiana — Atti Museo Friuliano di Storia Naturale. 10: 121–132.
- Dalla Vecchia F.M., 1998, "New observations on the osteology and taxonomic status of Preondactylus buffarinii Wild, 1984 (Reptilia, Pterosauria)", Boll. Soc. Paleont. It., 36(3, 1997): 355-366
- Dalla Vecchia, Fabio M. (2003). "A Review of the Triassic Pterosaur Record". Riv. Mus. Civ. Sc. Nat. "E. Caffi" Bergamo. 22: 13–29.