| Muzquizopteryx Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossil skeleton | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | † Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | † Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | † Aponyctosauria |
| Family: | † Nyctosauridae |
| Genus: | † Muzquizopteryx Frey et al., 2006 |
| Type species | |
| †Muzquizopteryx coahuilensis Frey et al., 2006 | |
Muzquizopteryx is a genus of nyctosaurid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period (early Coniacian stage) of what is now Coahuila, Mexico.
In the 1990s, José Martínez Vásquez, a worker at the chalk quarry of El Rosario, uncovered a skeleton of a pterosaur. This he handed to a quarry official, who had it bricked in on the face of an office wall as a decorative piece. After its unique scientific value had been recognized in 2002, the specimen was acquired by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Subsequently, it was studied by a combined team of the University of Karlsruhe and the Desert Museum and scientifically reported in 2004. [1]
In 2006, the type species Muzquizopteryx coahuilensis was named and described by Eberhard Frey, Marie-Céline Buchy, Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, Arturo González-González and Alfredo di Stefano. The generic name is derived from the Múzquiz district and a Greek πτέρυξ, pteryx, "wing". The specific name is derived from the state of Coahuila. [2]
Muzquizopteryx is based on holotype UNAM IGM 8621, found in the El Rosario layers, early Coniacian-aged rocks. [3] It consists of a nearly complete, articulated skeleton that includes soft tissue remains, among them long fossilised tendons along both sides of both lower arms. The specimen represents an adult individual. [2]
In 2012, a second specimen was reported, MUDE CPC-494, again uncovered by a quarry worker, perhaps at the same site, and sold to a private collector. It was later acquired by the Museo del Desierto Saltillo. It consists of the right upper wing of a subadult individual, with about 81% of the length of the holotype. As its provenance probably consists of slightly older layers from the late Turonian and the remains are limited, it was referred to as cf. Muzquizopteryx sp. [4]
Muzquizopteryx was relatively small for a pterodactyloid pterosaur, with a wingspan of around 2 meters (6.6 ft). It had an elongated head with a convex upper profile, ending at the back of the head in a backward pointing short rounded crest. The jaws were toothless. The arms were very robust with the humerus featuring a large hatchet-shaped deltopectoral crest, indicating a strong wing musculature. The pteroid bone was long and pointed towards the neck, supporting a flight membrane. [2]
Muzquizopteryx was by its describers assigned to the Nyctosauridae. It would then be the oldest known member of the group and the smallest known; indeed the smallest adult Late Cretaceous pterosaur discovered until 2006. [2] As Nyctosaurus is sometimes included with the Pteranodontidae, Muzquizopteryx too might be considered a member of that group under some classifications.
Below is a cladogram showing the results of a phylogenetic analysis first presented by Andres and colleagues in 2014, and updated with additional data by Longrich and colleagues in 2018. They found Muzquizopteryx within the family Nyctosauridae. [5] [6]
Nyctosaurus is a genus of nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of what is now the Niobrara Formation of the mid-western United States, which, during the time Nyctosaurus was alive, was covered in an extensive shallow sea. Some remains belonging to a possible Nyctosaurus species called "N." lamegoi have been found in Brazil, though it likely belongs to a different genus Simurghia. The genus Nyctosaurus has had numerous species referred to it, though how many of these may actually be valid requires further study. At least one species possessed an extraordinarily large antler-like cranial crest.
The Pteranodontidae are a family of large pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Period of North America and Africa. The family was named in 1876 by Othniel Charles Marsh. Pteranodontids had a distinctive, elongated crest jutting from the rear of the head. The spectacularly-crested Nyctosaurus is sometimes included in this family, though usually placed in its own family, the Nyctosauridae.
Araripesaurus is a genus a pterosaur belonging to the suborder Pterodactyloidea, it was discovered in the Romualdo Formation of the Santana Group in northeastern Brazil, which dates back to the Aptian and Albian of the Early Cretaceous. The type species is A. castilhoi.
Kepodactylus is an extinct genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Colorado, United States.
Elanodactylus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China.
Ornithocheiridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. These pterosaurs were among the last to possess teeth. Members that belong to this group lived from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 90 million years ago.
Amphekepubis is a dubious genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mexico. Their remains correspond to the holotype specimen UM VP 509, a partial skeleton preserved in three dimensions, comprising the pelvic area, hind limb bones and nine caudal vertebrae, found in the east of Monterrey, in the state of Nuevo Leon, which come from marine sediments (claystones) apparently from the San Felipe Formation, which corresponds to the boundary between the ages of Coniacian and Santonian in the early Late Cretaceous. Amphekepubis is classified within the Mosasaurinae subfamily of mosasaurs.
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.
Nyctosauridae is a family of specialized soaring pterosaurs of the late Cretaceous Period of North America, Africa, and possibly other continents including South America. It was named in 1889 by Henry Alleyne Nicholson and Richard Lydekker.
Microtuban is an extinct genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of northern Lebanon.
Alamodactylus is an extinct genus of pteranodontian pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Texas, southern United States. It contains a single species, Alamodactylus byrdi.
The La Caja Formation is a geologic formation in Mexico. It preserves fossils dating from the Kimmeridgian to the lower Berriasian. La Caja Formation is widespread in northeastern and central Mexico and known for their abundant and diverse well-preserved ammonites. It was deposited in hemipelagic conditions, and predominantly consists of siliclastic sediments, including marl, with limestone. It is laterally equivalent to the La Casita Formation, which represent more proximal facies. The ichthyosaurs Ophthalmosaurus icenicus and Parrassaurus yacahuitztli, metriorhynchid Cricosaurus saltillensis and the giant pliosaur "Monster of Aramberri" are known from the formation.
The La Casita Formation is a geologic formation in Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Kimmeridgian to lowermost Berriasian. It is laterally equivalent to the La Caja Formation and the Pimienta Formation. The ichthyosaurs Jabalisaurus and Acuetzpalin are known from the formation, as well as the metriorhynchid Dakosaurus and indeterminate pliosaurs.
Mauriciosaurus is a genus of polycotylid plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mexico. It contains a single species, M. fernandezi, described in 2017 by Eberhard Frey and colleagues from a single well-preserved juvenile specimen about 1.9 metres long. Morphologically, it is overall most similar to the polycotyline polycotylids Trinacromerum and Dolichorhynchops. However, several features separate Mauriciosaurus from all other polycotylids, warranting the naming of a new genus. These include the sophisticated pattern of ridges on the bottom of the parasphenoid bone on its palate; the narrow openings in the palate bordered by the pterygoid bones; the lack of perforations in the surface of the coracoid; and the highly unusual arrangement of gastralia, or belly ribs, which is only otherwise seen in the non-polycotylid Cryptoclidus.
Tethydraco is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period of what is now the area of present Morocco, about 66 million years ago. Tethydraco was originally assigned to the family Pteranodontidae. Some researchers argued that subsequently described material suggests that it may have been an azhdarchid, and possibly synonymous with Phosphatodraco, though this has been disputed. The type and only species is T. regalis.
Alcione is a genus of pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, dating back to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period. Only one species, A. elainus, is known. This pterosaur lived in a marine environment alongside several other pterosaurs, including Simurghia and Barbaridactylus.
Acantholipan is a genus of herbivorous nodosaurid dinosaur from Mexico from the early Santonian age of the Late Cretaceous. It includes one species, Acantholipan gonzalezi.
Barbaridactylus is a nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, a basin that dates back to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It was published in 2018 by paleontologists Nicholas R. Longrich, David M. Martill, and Brian Andres. In the same publication, two other pterosaurs from the same basin were described: Alcione and Simurghia. The type and only species is B. grandis.
Simurghia is a genus of pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, a basin that dates to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago. It was published in 2018 by paleontologists Nicholas R. Longrich, David M. Martill, and Brian Andres, along with two other pterosaurs from the same basin: Alcione and Barbaridactylus. The type species is S. robusta. A possible second species, S. ("Nyctosaurus") lamegoi, is known from the Campanian-Maastrichtian age strata of Brazil.
