Herbstosaurus

Herbstosaurus
Temporal occurrence
	Upper Jurassic ( Tithonian )
	152.1 to 145 million years
Locations
	Argentina ( Vaca Muerta Formation );
Systematics
	Archosauria
	Ornithodira
	Flugsaurier (Pterosauria)
	Short-tailed pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea)
	Herbstosaurus
Scientific name
	Herbstosaurus
	Casamiquela , 1974
Art
	Herbstosaurus pigmaeus;

Herbstosaurus is a genus of short-tailed pterodactyls (Pterodactyloidea) from the Jurassic ( Tithonium ) South America . So far only a single specimen is known, which consists mainly of bones and bone impressions of the pelvic region and the upper leg bones. Originally, this genus was described as a theropod dinosaur . Herbstosaurus is possibly the earliest known representative of the Pterodactyloidea in the southern hemisphere.

features

The thigh bone of the specimen found measures 9.15 centimeters in length; the wingspan of this specimen was probably about 1.5 meters. The sacrum consists of 5 to 6 vertebrae, a feature that is usually found in members of the Pterodactyloidea, but is very unusual in more basal (primal) pterosaurs.

Systematics

The family relationships are controversial. Ostrom (1978) first recognized that it belonged to the pterosaurs. While Bonaparte (1978) assigned this genus to the Pterodactylidae , Peter Wellnhofer (1991) saw it as a more basal pterosaur outside of the Pterodactyloidea. Unwin (2003) attributed Herbstosaurus to the Dsungaripteroidea , a group within the Pterodactyloidea, which Codorniú and Gasparini (2007) refuted.

Find

The only known specimen (holotype, specimen number CTES-PZ 1709) comes from the Vaca Muerta Formation ( Tithonium ) in the Argentine province of Neuquén . Originally the site was assigned to the Central Jurassic Lotena Formation . A key fossil discovered together with this pterosaur , the ammonite berriasiella , proves, however, that the find actually comes from the younger Vaca Muerta formation.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Laura Codorniú, Zulma Gasparini: Pterosauria. In: Zulma Gasparini, Leonardo Salgado , Rodolfo A. Coria (eds.): Patagonian Mesozoic reptiles. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN et al. 2007, ISBN 978-0-253-34857-9 , pp. 143-166.
^ ^A ^b David M. Unwin: The fossil record of Middle Jurassic pterosaurs. In: Michael Morales (Ed.): The Continental Jurassic. Transactions of the Continental Jurassic Symposium, October 21-23, 1996, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona (= Museum of Northern Arizona. Bulletin. 60). The Museum, Flagstaff AZ 1996, ISBN 0-89734-119-8 , pp. 291-304.

[patmesorep_07-1] Laura Codorniú, Zulma Gasparini: Pterosauria. In: Zulma Gasparini, Leonardo Salgado , Rodolfo A. Coria (eds.): Patagonian Mesozoic reptiles. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN et al. 2007, ISBN 978-0-253-34857-9 , pp. 143-166.

[unwin_96-2] A ^b David M. Unwin: The fossil record of Middle Jurassic pterosaurs. In: Michael Morales (Ed.): The Continental Jurassic. Transactions of the Continental Jurassic Symposium, October 21-23, 1996, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona (= Museum of Northern Arizona. Bulletin. 60). The Museum, Flagstaff AZ 1996, ISBN 0-89734-119-8 , pp. 291-304.