Santanadactylus

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Santanadactylus
Fossil range: Early Cretaceous
Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Family: uncertain
Genus: Santanadactylus
Buisonjé, 1980
Species
  • S. brasilensis (type)
  • ?S. araripensis Wellnhofer, 1985
  • ?S. pricei Wellnhofer, 1985
  • ?S. spixi Wellnhofer, 1985

Santandactylus (meaning "Santana Formation wing") was a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Aptian-age Romualdo Member of the Lower Cretaceous Santana Formation, of Barra do Jardim, Araripe Plateau, Ceará Province, Brazil. Four species have been named. It was a large, long-necked pterosaur, with a relatively short snout, with teeth.

Contents

[edit] History and Species

The type species, S. brasilensis, is based on Geological Institute of the University of Amsterdam 4894, a portion of the right humerus and scapulacoracoid; other remains, including cervical vertebrae from a different individual were also included in the genus.[1] Additional remains, including a notarium (fused vertebrae supporting the shoulder) have been referred to it since then.[2][3] The structure of the humerus suggests an ornithocheirid, but the long neck vertebrae argue against this.[4]

In 1985, Peter Wellnhofer, a paleontologist who has written numerous scientific publications on pterosaurs, named three additional species: S. araripensis, S. pricei, and S. spixi.[5] S. araripensis was a large species based on remains including a partial skull (missing the end of the jaws) and arms; the preserved skull section had no crest. S. pricei was the smallest of the three species; it was based on BSP 1980 I 22, a left wing from the elbow down, and additional arm material has been referred to it over the years.[3] S. spixi, intermediate in size, was based on BSP 1980 I 22, another left wing.

Over the years, the species of this taxon have been reassessed. Chris Bennett suggested that S. brasilensis was a chimera of a pteranodontid and something else, S. araripensis and S. pricei were pteranodontids, and S. spixi was a dsugaripterid.[6] Wellnhofer removed S. spixi from the genus as well, in 1991.[3] In 1992, Kellner and Campos suggested that S. spixi was a tapejarid.[7] Part of the problem is the complicated taxonomy of Santana Formation pterosaurs and their English contemporaries, involving numerous genera, such as Amblydectes, Anhanguera, Araripesaurus, Criorhynchus, Coloborhynchus, Lonchodectes, Ornithocheirus, and Tropeognathus.

[edit] Paleobiology

Santanadactylus is regarded as a large pterosaur, with a wingspan of 2.9-5.7 m (9.5-18.7 ft). [4] It may have been adapted for gliding over flapping flight.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ de Buisonjé, P.H. (1980). Santanadactylus brasiliensis nov.gen. nov.sp. a longnecked, large pterosaur from the Aptian of Brazil. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlanse Akademie van Wetenschappen B 83(2):145-172.
  2. ^ Wellnhofer, P., Buffetaut, E., and Gigase, P. (1983). A pterosaurian notarium from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 57147-157.
  3. ^ a b c Wellnhofer, P. (1991). Weitere Pterosaurierfunde aus der Santana-Formation (Apt) der Chapada do Araripe, Brasilien. Palaeontographica A 215:43–101. [German]
  4. ^ a b Wellnhofer, Peter [1991] (1996). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 124. ISBN 0-7607-0154-7. 
  5. ^ Wellnhofer, P. (1985). Neue Pterosaurier aus der Santana-Formation (Apt) der Chapada do Araripe, Brasilien. Palaontographica A 187:105-182. [German]
  6. ^ Bennett, S.C. (1989). A pteranodontid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Peru, with comments on the relationships of Cretaceous pterosaurs. Journal of Paleontology 63:669-677.
  7. ^ Kellner, A.W.A., and Campos, D. de A. (1992), A new tapejarid from the Santana Formation (Lower Cretaceous) from the Araripe Basin, Northeastern Brasil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 12(Supplement to 3):36–37A.
  8. ^ Glut, D.F. (2006). Santanadactylus In: Glut, D.F. Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia. 4nd Supplement. McFarland & Company, Inc.:Jefferson, North Carolina, 628-629. ISBN 0-7864-2295-5.

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