Vectidraco

Vectidraco; Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Holotype NHMUK PV R36621
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Family:	†Tapejaridae
Subfamily:	† Tapejarinae
Genus:	†Vectidraco; Naish et al., 2013
Type species
	†Vectidraco daisymorrisae; Naish et al., 2013

Vectidraco (meaning "dragon from the

Lower Cretaceous of England

.

Discovery and naming

In November 2008, Daisy Morris of

palaeontologist Martin Simpson, from the University of Southampton.^[2]^[3] The Morris family donated the specimen to the Natural History Museum

.

A scientific paper was published in 2013 about the find in the

Latin Vectis, the Roman name of the island now known as the Isle of Wight, and dracō, meaning "dragon". The specific name honours the discoverer Daisy Morris.^[3]^[1] A children's book has also been written by Simpson about Daisy Morris's discovery, called Daisy and the Isle of Wight Dragon.^[4]

The only known specimen,

vertebrae, of a subadult or adult individual.^[3]

Description

Vectidraco is a relatively small pterosaur. The pelvis is four centimetres long as preserved. Vectidraco's wingspan was estimated at seventy-five centimetres, its total body length at thirty-five centimetres. In view of its affinities, the describing authors assumed it was a toothless form, featuring a crest on its snout.^[3]

Several unique derived traits,

autapomorphies, were established. The hip joint is bordered at its top rear corner by a triangular depression. This depression is overhung by a ridge running downwards to the rear. The front blade of the ilium features an undivided roughly oval depression at its front inner side, below a convex surface. Furthermore, a unique combination of traits is present in that the elongated rear blade of the ilium is T-shaped, terminating in a wide expansion also projecting upwards, that is longer than the shaft of the rear blade itself.^[3]

Damage to the ilium shows the presence of camellate bone, internal air chambers. Also all the preserved vertebrae are pneumatised.[3]

Classification

Vectidraco was assigned to the

Sinopterinae

. Vectidraco, just like in the analysis by Longrich and colleagues, was recovered as the sister taxon of both Tapejara and Europejara, within the subfamily Tapejarinae. Their cladogram is shown below:

Tapejaromorpha

Bennettazhia oregonensis

Tapejaridae

Tapejarinae