Maaradactylus

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Maaradactylus
Temporal range: Aptian–Albian
Coloborhynchus spielbergi2.jpg
Reconstructed skeleton of the species M. spielbergi on display in Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Family: Anhangueridae
Subfamily: Anhanguerinae
Genus: Maaradactylus
Bantim et al., 2014
Type species
Maaradactylus kellneri
Bantim et al., 2014
Other species
  • M. spielbergi?
    (Veldmeijer, 2003) Jacobs et al., 2019
Synonyms
Synonyms of M. spielbergi

Maaradactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous period (Aptian to Albian stages) of the Romualdo Formation of northeastern Brazil.

Discovery

Specimen MPSC R 2357, from the Araripe Basin, Brazil Maaradactylus kellneri.tif
Specimen MPSC R 2357, from the Araripe Basin, Brazil

Maaradactylus is based on the Museu Paleontologico de Santana do Cariri specimen MPSC R 2357, a skull, atlas, and axis discovered in 2010 in the AptianAlbian-age Romualdo Formation of Sítio São Gonçalo, Santana do Cariri, Ceará, in the Araripe Basin of Brazil.

Maaradactylus was described by Renan Bantim and colleagues in 2014. The type species is Maaradactylus kellneri. The generic name refers to Maara, in the legends of the Cariri the daughter of a chief, by sorcery changed into a river monster with long teeth, devouring fishermen. The suffix ~dactylus is common in the names of pterosaurs and is derived from Greek δάκτυλος, daktylos, "finger", referring to the long (fourth) wing finger. The specific name honors Alexander Kellner, Brazil's foremost pterosaur expert. [2]

In 2019, the species Coloborhynchus spielbergi, also assigned as Anhanguera spielbergi, was reassigned to Maaradactylus by Megan L. Jacobs and colleagues as M. spielbergi. [3] This species was named after the filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the director of Jurassic Park by André J. Veldmeijer. [4] The holotype of this species was prepared from a chunk of limestone of Albian-age originating from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation in Brazil and has been part of the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, The Netherlands since 1992. [5] A replica is on display in one of the museum exhibitions.

Description

Maaradactylus had one of the largest anhanguerid skulls from the Santana Group, and this indicated a wingspan estimate of about 6 meters (20 ft). This anhanguerid also has a relatively tall crest running along the midline of the premaxillary bones, which make up most of the upper beak region, and placements for 35 pairs of teeth in the upper jaws. [2]

The formerly known Coloborhynchus spielbergi (alternatively Anhanguera spielbergi), now Maaradactylus spielbergi, had rounded crests at the ends of expanded upper and lower jaws, similar to the related ornithocheirids. [6] However, rather than the crests being robust and box-shaped as seen in many ornithocheirid genera, the jaw tips were more slender and spoon-shaped, and the crest is thin from top to bottom, both features commonly seen in anhanguerid species typically referred to the genus Anhanguera, a genus in which M. speilbergi was classified by some researchers as A. spielbergi. As in other ornithocheirids, the size and orientation of the teeth vary considerably along the jawline. In M. spielbergi, the tooth pattern has been described as more similar to Anhanguera rather than to Tropeognathus. [3]

Classification

Skull reconstruction of the species M. kellneri Maaradactylus kellneri.png
Skull reconstruction of the species M. kellneri

A topology recovered by Jacobs et al. in 2019 recovered Maaradactylus within the family Anhangueridae, and as the sister taxon of several Anhanguera species. Their cladogram is shown on the left. [3] In 2020 however, a study by Borja Holgado and Rodrigo Pêgas had recovered Maaradactylus as the sister taxon of Cearadactylus , both belonging to the subfamily Anhanguerinae. Their cladogram is shown on the right. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Cearadactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Cearadactylus is a genus of large anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Romualdo Formation of Brazil, South America. Fossil remains of Cearadactylus dated back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 112 million years ago. The only known species is C. atrox, described and named in 1985 by Giuseppe Leonardi and Guido Borgomanero. The name refers to the Brazilian state Ceará, and combines this with Greek daktylos, "finger", a reference to the wing finger of pterosaurs. The Latin atrox means "frightful", a reference to the fearsome dentition of the species.

<i>Ornithocheirus</i> Genus of ornithocheirid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Ornithocheirus is a pterosaur genus known from fragmentary fossil remains uncovered from sediments in the United Kingdom and possibly Morocco.

<i>Tropeognathus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Tropeognathus is a genus of large pterosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous of South America. This genus is considered to be a member of the family Anhangueridae, however, several studies have also recovered it within another family called Ornithocheiridae. Both of these families are diverse groups of pterosaurs known for their keel-tipped snouts and large size. Tropeognathus is regarded as the largest pterosaur found in the Southern Hemisphere, only rivaled by the huge azhdarchids. The type and only species is Tropeognathus mesembrinus. Fossil remains of Tropeognathus have been recovered from the Romualdo Formation, which is a Lagerstätte located in the Santana Group of the Araripe Basin in northeastern Brazil.

<i>Thalassodromeus</i> Genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Thalassodromeus is a genus of pterosaur that lived in what is now Brazil during the Early Cretaceous period, about a hundred million years ago. The original skull, discovered in 1983 in the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil, was collected in several pieces. In 2002, the skull was made the holotype specimen of Thalassodromeus sethi by palaeontologists Alexander Kellner and Diogenes de Almeida Campos. The generic name means "sea runner", and the specific name refers to the Egyptian god Seth due to its crest being supposedly reminiscent of Seth's crown. Other scholars have pointed out that the crest was instead similar to the crown of Amon. A jaw tip was assigned to T. sethi in 2005, became the basis of the new genus Banguela in 2014, and assigned back to Thalassodromeus as the species T. oberlii in 2018. Another species was described in 2015 based on a supposed crest fragment, but this was later shown to be part of a turtle shell.

Anhanguera is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation of Brazil and the Late Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco. This pterosaur is closely related to Ornithocheirus, but belongs in the family Anhangueridae. The generic name comes from the Tupi words añanga, meaning "spirit protector of the animals" + wera "bygone".

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.

Brasileodactylus a genus of pterosaur from the Aptian-age lower Santana formation of Chapada do Araripe, Ceará, Brazil.

<i>Siroccopteryx</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Siroccopteryx is an extinct genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur, known from middle Cretaceous sediments in modern-day Morocco. Some researchers, such as David M. Unwin, consider the genus a junior synonym of Coloborhynchus.

<i>Eopteranodon</i> Genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Eopteranodon is a genus of tapejarid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao City, Liaoning, China. The genus was named in 2005 by paleontologists Lü Junchang and Zhang Xingliao. The type species is Eopteranodon lii.

<i>Coloborhynchus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Cretaceous period

Coloborhynchus is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur belonging to the family Anhangueridae, though it has also been recovered as a member of the Ornithocheiridae in some studies. Coloborhynchus is known from the Lower Cretaceous of England, and depending on which species are included, possibly the Albian and Cenomanian ages as well. Coloborhynchus was once thought to be the largest known toothed pterosaur, however, a specimen of the closely related Tropeognathus is now thought to have had a larger wingspan.

<i>Ludodactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Ludodactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now the Crato Formation of the Araripe Basin in Ceará, Brazil. The type and only species is L. sibbicki. The generic name Ludodactylus refers to the fact that the animal had the combination of teeth and a Pteranodon-like head crest, similar to many toy pterosaurs, and no such creature was known to exist until the discovery of Ludodactylus. However, Ludodactylus is not the only pterosaur known to possess these features, its very close relative Caulkicephalus is another example.

<i>Santanadactylus</i> Genus of pteranodontoid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Santanadactylus was a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Albian-age Romualdo Member of the Upper Cretaceous Santana Formation, of Barra do Jardim, Araripe Plateau, Ceará State, Brazil. Four species have been named, but today are no considered congeneric with each other. It was a rather large pterosaur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiridae</span> Family of ornithocheiran pterosaurs

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.

<i>Mythunga</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Mythunga is a genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia. Fossil remains of Mythunga dated back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous, and the animal itself was found to be a close relative of another Australian anhanguerid called Ferrodraco.

<i>Uktenadactylus</i> Genus of anhanguerid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Uktenadactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous Paw Paw Formation of Texas, United States and the Wessex Formation on the Isle of Wight, England. Fossil remains of Uktenadactylus dated back to the Early Cretaceous period, from about 125 to 100 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anhangueridae</span> Family of anhanguerian pterosaurs

Anhangueridae is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. They were among the last pterosaurs to possess teeth. A recent study discussing the group considered the Anhangueridae to be typified by a premaxillary crest and a lateral expansion in the distal rostrum. The same study presented a cladistic analysis, for which an "agreement subtree" was calculated. The Anhangueridae was found to be sister taxon to the large crested Tropeognathus.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheirae</span> Clade of pteranodontoid pterosaurs

Ornithocheirae is an extinct clade of pteranodontoid pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous to the Late Cretaceous of Asia, Europe, North America and South America. It was named by Harry Seeley in 1870 as a family that contains Ornithocheirus and its relatives. The name was emended to Ornithocheiridae, to match the requirements of the ICZN Code that a family-ranked clade should end with an -idae suffix. Brian Andres (2010) in his review of pterosaur phylogeny, defined the name Ornithocheirae phylogenetically, as a node-based taxon consisting of the last common ancestor of Anhanguera and Ornithocheirus and all its descendants. Thus Ornithocheirae is defined to include two families, the Anhangueridae and the Ornithocheiridae, following the opinion of Alexander Kellner and Andres that these families should not be synonymized based on their original phylogenetical definitions. However, subsequent studies in 2019 have found Ornithocheirae to be a more inclusive group containing both Anhangueria and Targaryendraconia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anhangueria</span> Clade of ornithocheiran pterosaurs from the Cretaceous period

Anhangueria is a group of pterosaurs belonging to the clade Pteranodontoidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Anhangueria was named by paleontologists Taissa Rodrigues and Alexander Kellner in a review of Ornithocheirus species in 2013, they defined the clade as a branch-based taxon consisting of all pteranodontoids more closely related to Anhanguera blittersdorffi than to Istiodactylus latidens and Cimoliopterus cuvieri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithocheiromorpha</span> Clade of pteranodontoid pterosaurs

Ornithocheiromorpha is a group of pterosaurs within the suborder Pterodactyloidea. Fossil remains of this group date back from the Early to Late Cretaceous periods, around 140 to 92.5 million years ago. Ornithocheiromorphs were discovered worldwide except Antarctica, though most genera were recovered in Europe, Asia and South America. They were the most diverse and successful pterosaurs during the Early Cretaceous, but throughout the Late Cretaceous they were replaced by better adapted and more advanced pterosaur species such the pteranodontids and azhdarchoids. The Ornithocheiromorpha was defined in 2014 by Andres and colleagues, and they made Ornithocheiromorpha the most inclusive clade containing Ornithocheirus, but not Pteranodon.

References

  1. Rodrigues, Taiss; Kellner, Alexander W. A. (2008). "Review of the pterodactyloid pterosaur Coloborhynchus" (PDF). Zitteliana. 28: 219–228.
  2. 1 2 Renan A. M. Bantim; Antônio A. F. Saraiva; Gustavo R. Oliveira; Juliana M. Sayão (2014). "A new toothed pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Anhangueridae) from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation, NE Brazil". Zootaxa. 3869 (3): 201–223. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3869.3.1. PMID   25283914.
  3. 1 2 3 Jacobs, M.L.; Martill, D.M.; Ibrahim, N.; Longrich, N. (2019). "A new species of Coloborhynchus (Pterosauria, Ornithocheiridae) from the mid-Cretaceous of North Africa" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 95: 77–88. Bibcode:2019CrRes..95...77J. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.10.018. S2CID   134439172.
  4. Veldmeijer, A.J. (2003). "Description of Coloborhynchus spielbergi sp. nov.(Pterodactyloidea) from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil". Scripta Geologica. 125 (35): e139.
  5. "Coloborhynchus spielbergi".
  6. Veldmeijer, A.J., H.J.M. Meijer, and M. Signore (2006). "Coloborhynchus from the Lower Cretaceous Santana Formation, Brazil (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae); an update." PalArch's Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, 3(2): 15–29.
  7. Holgado, B.; Pêgas, R.V. (2020). "A taxonomic and phylogenetic review of the anhanguerid pterosaur group Coloborhynchinae and the new clade Tropeognathinae". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65. doi: 10.4202/app.00751.2020 .