Phosphatodraco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Phosphatodraco Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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P. mauritanicus Pereda-Suberbiola et al., 2005 (type) |
Phosphatodraco (meaning "phosphate dragon", in reference to the phosphates of Morocco, the country where it was found) is a genus of azhdarchid pterodactyloid pterosaur from a late Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous portion of the Oulad (or Qualad) Abdoun Phosphatic Basin, Grand Doui, near Khouribga, central Morocco. It is based on OCP DEK/GE 111, which is composed of five associated cervical vertebrae and a bone of unknown origin. The individual to which the neck belonged would have had a wingspan of about 5 meters (16.4 feet). It is unusual among azhdarchids for having elongate vertebrae at the base of the neck; the neck is also one of the most complete known for azhdarchids. It was one of the last pterosaurs before the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event that finished off the group, and is the first azhdarchid found in northern Africa. P. mauritanicus is the type and only known species.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Pereda-Suberbiola, Xabier; Bardet, N., Jouve, S., Iarochène, M., Bouya, B., and Amaghzaz, M. (2003). "A new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco", in Buffetaut, E., and Mazin, J.-M. (eds.): Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs, Geological Society of London, Special Publications, 217. London: Geological Society of London, 80-90. ISBN 1-86239-143-2.
[edit] External links
- Phophatodraco in The Pterosaur Database
- Phosphatodraco in The Pterosauria
