Xericeps

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Xericeps
Temporal range: Cenomanian
Xericeps curvirostris (holotype and referred specimens).png
Holotype (A–E) and referred specimen (F–H) specimens of Xericeps
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order:† Pterosauria
Suborder:† Pterodactyloidea
Clade:† Azhdarchoidea
Family:† Alanqidae
Genus:† Xericeps
Martill et al., 2018
Type species
†Xericeps curvirostris
Martill et al., 2018

Xericeps is an extinct genus of alanqid pterosaur from the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It was discovered from the Kem Kem Beds of southeastern Morocco.

Contents

The name Xericeps comes from the Ancient Greek : ξερός - meaning dry, referencing the Sahara Desert, in which the pterosaur was first found, and the Latin : cep from capere, meaning "to catch" - alluding to the creature's forceps-like beak. [1]

Discovery and naming

The holotype specimen, FSAC-KK-10700, was discovered by local mine workers at Aferdou N'Chaft, a small mesa near the oasis village of Hassi el Begaa in the Errachidia Province in southeastern Morocco on the Algerian border, and consists only of the pterosaur's fragmented jaws. The specimen was purchased directly at the mine site by British palaeontologist David M. Martill in January 2017, and thus it was possible to confidently establish its precise locality and stratigraphic horizon. [1]

It is believed that Xericeps lived in the mid-Cretaceous period around the Albian–Cenomanian ages (93.9–113.0 Ma). [1]

The specific name, "curvirostris", comes from the Latin curvus, meaning "curved" and rostrum meaning snout, or muzzle, referencing the specimen's noticeably upward-curved beak. [1]

Description

Xericeps is a medium-sized edentulous (toothless) pterosaur. The term 'medium-sized', in the context of pterosaurs, is generally used to describe pterosaurs with a wingspan of 3–8 metres, and it is likely that Xericeps was nearer the lower end of this range. [1]

The holotype specimen is a partial anterior lower jaw, broken off anterior to where the mandibular rami diverged. The jaw is upturned, with the occluding surface curved in lateral view. On the dorsal surface of the mandibular symphysis are a pair of ridges, similar to those seen in Alanqa and Argentinadraco . [1]

Classification

A 2021 study focused on Aerotitan recovered Xericeps as a chaoyangopterid closely related to Argentinadraco . [2] Both Xericeps and Argentinadraco have since been consistently recovered as members of Alanqidae, which also includes Alanqa and Leptostomia , in both tapejarid [3] [4] and azhdarchid-focused [5] [6] [7] phylogenetic analyses of azhdarchoids. The results of a phylogenetic analysis in a 2025 study of azhdarchoid relationships by Henry Thomas and Skye McDavid are shown below. [8]

Azhdarchoidea

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martill, David M.; Unwin, David M.; Ibrahim, Nizar; Longrich, Nick (2018). "A new edentulous pterosaur from the Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of south eastern Morocco". Cretaceous Research. 84: 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2017.09.006. hdl: 2381/41058 .
  2. ↑ Pêgas, Rodrigo V.; Holgado, Borja; Ortiz David, Leonardo D.; Baiano, Mattia A.; Costa, Fabiana R. (2022). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. 129 104998. Bibcode:2022CrRes.12904998P. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998.
  3. ↑ Pêgas, R. V.; Zhoi, X.; Jin, X.; Wang, K.; Ma, W. (2023). "A taxonomic revision of the Sinopterus complex (Pterosauria, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, with the new genus Huaxiadraco". PeerJ. 11. e14829. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14829 . PMC   9922500 . PMID   36788812.
  4. ↑ Pêgas, Rodrigo V. (June 10, 2024). "A taxonomic note on the tapejarid pterosaurs from the Pterosaur Graveyard site (Caiuá Group, ?Early Cretaceous of Southern Brazil): evidence for the presence of two species". Historical Biology : 1–22. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2355664. ISSN   0891-2963.
  5. ↑ Thomas, Henry N.; Hone, David W. E.; Gomes, Timothy; Peterson, Joseph E. (2025-02-28). "Infernodrakon hastacollis gen. et sp. nov., a new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, and the pterosaur diversity of Maastrichtian North America". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 44 (4). e2442476. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2442476. ISSN   0272-4634.
  6. ↑ Zhou, Xuanyu; Ikegami, Naoki; Pêgas, Rodrigo V.; Yoshinaga, Toru; Sato, Takahiro; Mukunoki, Toshifumi; Otani, Jun; Kobayashi, Yoshitsugu (March 2025). "Reassessment of an azhdarchid pterosaur specimen from the Mifune Group, Upper Cretaceous of Japan" . Cretaceous Research . 167 106046. Bibcode:2025CrRes.16706046Z. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106046. ISSN   0195-6671.
  7. ↑ Giaretta, Ariovaldo A.; Navarro, Bruno A.; Marinho, Thiago S.; Pêgas, R. Vargas (September 2025). "The first pterosaur from the Bauru Group: an azhdarchid from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil". Papers in Palaeontology . 11 (5) e70039. doi: 10.1002/spp2.70039 . ISSN   2056-2799.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Henry N.; McDavid, Skye N. (5 Nov 2025). "Enter the dragons: the phylogeny of Azhdarchoidea (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) and the evolution of giant size in pterosaurs". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 23 (1) 2569368. doi:10.1080/14772019.2025.2569368 . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
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