| Microtuban Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
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| Life restoration | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | † Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | † Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | † Azhdarchomorpha |
| Genus: | † Microtuban Elgin & Frey, 2011 |
| Species: | †M. altivolans |
| Binomial name | |
| †Microtuban altivolans Elgin & Frey 2011 | |
Microtuban is an extinct genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of northern Lebanon. [1]
Microtuban is known only from a partially preserved skeleton lacking the skull, holotype SMNK PAL 6595. It was acquired from a local fossil dealer by the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe and was, as can be deduced from the qualities of the stone matrix, collected in the locality of Hjoûla in a marine layer of the Sannine Formation, dating to the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 99.6–96 million years ago. The fossil dealer however, indicated it came from a quarry at nearby Hâqel. Regardless, it is only the second pterosaur fossil found in Lebanon and a rare example of a pterosaur from the African continental plate, to which the area in Cretaceous times belonged. In this period the site was located hundreds of miles from the mainland coastline. [1]
The specimen consists of the last cervical and first dorsal vertebrae, a shoulder girdle, the left wing and fragments of the hindlimbs. It represents an immature individual. Many bones are broken but the whole is still articulated. This was explained as being caused by a collision or a bite by a predator, just before or after death, after which the carcass quickly sank to the sea bottom. [1]
Microtuban was named by Ross A. Elgin and Eberhard Frey in 2011 and the type species is Microtuban altivolans. The generic name is derived from Greek μικρός, mikros, "little", and Arabic ثعبان, tuban, "dragon" or basilisk, also referring to Thuban, the ancient Polar Star in the constellation Draco. The specific name is derived from Latin altus, "high", and volare, "to fly". [1]
As the specimen is that of a not yet fully grown animal, it is difficult to estimate the adult size. The wingspan of the holotype can be deduced from the length of the wing elements. The upper arm, damaged in the fossil, measured about nine centimetres, the lower about seven. The fourth metacarpal is 122 millimetres long. The four phalanges of the, fourth, wing-finger measure 135, 114.5, 63.5 and 3.5 millimetres respectively. [1]
The authors indicated two unique derived traits, or autapomorphies: the second phalanx of the wing-finger is long, with 85% of the length of the first phalanx; the fourth phalanx is extremely reduced measuring but 1.1% of wing-finger length. [1]
Possible juvenile traits included the lack of a notarium, being a fusion of the front dorsal vertebrae, and an unfused scapula and coracoid. [1]
The describers assigned Microtuban to the Azhdarchoidea, using the comparative method. Of the four known azhdarchoid groups they excluded the Tapejaridae and Azhdarchidae, leaving the possibility that Microtuban was member of either the Thalassodromidae or the Chaoyangopteridae. As the two latter groups are mainly distinguished on the basis of traits in the skull, the very body part the Microtuban holotype lacks, it proved impossible to decide whether it were a thalassodromid or a chaoyangopterid. In either case it would have been the youngest known example of its group. [1] A study upheld by paleontologist Nicholas Longrich and colleagues in 2018 had recovered Microtuban within the Chaoyangopteridae, in the basalmost position. [2] Their cladogram is shown below:
| Neoazhdarchia |
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Beipiaopterus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Yixian Formation of the China.
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Eoazhdarcho is a genus of azhdarchoid pterodactyloid pterosaur named in 2005 by Chinese paleontologists Lü Junchang and Ji Qiang. The type and only known species is Eoazhdarcho liaoxiensis. The fossil was found in the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Chaoyang, Liaoning, China.
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Elanodactylus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China.
Chaoyangopteridae is a family of pterosaurs within the larger group Azhdarchoidea. Chaoyangopterids lived mostly during the Early Cretaceous period, though possible members, Microtuban, Xericeps and Argentinadraco, may extend the fossil range to the Late Cretaceous.
Zhenyuanopterus is a genus of boreopterid pterosaur which is known from Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. It contains one species, Zhenyuanopterus longirostris, which was first described and named by Lü Junchang.
Barbosania is an extinct genus of crestless targaryendraconian pterosaur from the Cretaceous Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group of northeastern Brazil, dating to the Aptian to Albian.
Gladocephaloideus is a genus of ctenochasmatid ctenochasmatoid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now western Liaoning, China.
Bellubrunnus is an extinct genus of rhamphorhynchid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany. It contains a single species, Bellubrunnus rothgaengeri. Bellubrunnus is distinguished from other rhamphorhynchids by its lack of long projections on the vertebrae of the tail, fewer teeth in the jaws, and wingtips that curve forward rather than sweep backward as in other pterosaurs.
Eurazhdarcho is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of what is now the Transylvanian Basin of Romania. Its fossil remains dated back 69 million years ago.
Vectidraco, is a genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of England.
Caupedactylus is an extinct genus of tapejarid azhdarchoid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Romualdo Formation of the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil. The type and only species of Caupedactylus is Caupedactylus ybaka.
Alamodactylus is an extinct genus of nyctosaurid pteranodontoid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Texas, southern United States. It contains a single species, Alamodactylus byrdi.
Mimodactylus is a genus of istiodactyliform pterosaur that lived in what is now Lebanon during the Late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of Hjoula. The owner of the quarry allowed the specimen to be prepared and scientifically described by an international team of researchers, and when it was eventually sold, the buyer donated it to the MIM Museum in Beirut. In 2019, the researchers named the new genus and species Mimodactylus libanensis; the generic name refers to the MIM Museum, combined with the Greek word daktylos for "digit", and the specific name refers to Lebanon. The well-preserved holotype specimen is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent, and the third pterosaur fossil known from Lebanon.
Apatorhamphus is an extinct genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Kem Kem Group of Morocco. It might have been part of the Chaoyangopteridae. It is only known from a few snout fragments and it likely had a wingspan of between 3–7 metres (9.8–23.0 ft)
Leptostomia is a genus of long-beaked pterosaur from the mid-Cretaceous (?Albian-Cenomanian) of Morocco, North Africa. The type species is L. begaaensis, which was named and described in 2021 from sediments of the Kem Kem Group in Morocco. It was a small animal with a long, slender bill which is thought to have been used to probe sediments for worms and other invertebrates, similar to kiwi birds and curlews. Leptostomia is likely a member of the Azhdarchoidea.
Kariridraco is a genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous-aged Romualdo Formation, Brazil. The genus contains a single species, Kariridraco dianae.
