Vectidraco
| Vectidraco | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Holotype of vectidraco (Fossil left pelvic bone with vertebrae) |
||||||||||||
| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Lower Cretaceous ( Aptium ) | ||||||||||||
| 126.3 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Vectidraco | ||||||||||||
| Naish et al., 2013 | ||||||||||||
| Art | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Vectidraco is a genus of Flugsaurier (Pterosauria). Their representatives lived in the late Lower Cretaceous (about 126 mya ) on the northeastern edge of the Tethys and reached an estimated size of 35 cm, while their wingspan was probably about 75 cm. The genus fossil material includes a pelvic bone, some vertebrae, and a piece of the ischial bone , all found inthe Isle of Wight's Atherfield Clay .
The genus and its only species - Vectidraco daisymorrisae - were first described in 2013 by Darren Naish , Martin Simpson and Gareth Dyke . In view of the morphology of the pelvis, Vectidraco is placed by the authors in the group of the Azhdarchoidea , which was characterized by bony forehead crests, short tails and high, toothless beaks.
features
Compared to other Azhdarchoids, the fossil bones of Vectidraco are relatively small: the basin is around 40 mm long. Based on the proportions of the similarly large genus Tapejara , the result is an approximate body length of 35 cm and a wingspan of around 75 cm. Vectidraco was therefore significantly smaller than the Late Cretaceous Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx , which reached spans of over 10 m. The fact that these dimensions are those of an adult animal can be seen from the completed ossification of the holotype .
Diagnostic features of Vectidraco include a distant triangular indentation that is posterodorsal to the acetabulum and is bounded posteroventrally by a ridge of bone. The post-acetabular process has a large oval fossa on the anteromedial surface . The proportions of the post-acetabular process, the length of which roughly corresponds to that of its convex end surface, are also considered as autapomorphism.
Way of life
Hardly any concrete statements can be made about the way of life of Vectidraco . Looking at other azhdarchoid pterosaurs, it is assumed that the animals moved on all fours. The fossils of the genus come from marine sediments that were deposited during the lifetime of the genus on the northeastern edge of the Tethys .
Fossil Material, Distribution, and Stratigraphy
The fossil remains of vectidraco - a left pelvic bones, parts of the back spine and a fragment of the right seat leg - are from the lower Atherfield Clay the Isle of Wight . This formation belongs to the Wealden Group , in which various rock formations from the Lower Cretaceous Great Britain are grouped together. Under the inventory number NHMUK PV R36621 they function as a holotype of the species Vecticodraco daisymorrisae . The find layer is probably the Chale-Clay-Member , which correlates with the biostratigraphic Deshayesites-forbesi - ammonite zone or the Deshayesites-fittoni-ammonite subzone. It comes from the early Aptium and is about 126.3 million years old.
Systematics
Based on the findings from the Isle of Wight, Darren Naish , Martin Simpson and Gareth Dyke 2013 the genus Vectidraco (from " Latin vectis " for the Isle of Wight and " draco " for dragon). The species on which the genus is based they named Vecticodraco daisymorrisae , the specific epithet honoring the holotype's finder, Daisy Morris, who found the fossil remains stuck in the sand in 2009 as a four-year-old. On the basis of the morphology of the pelvic bone, they carried out a phylogenetic analysis of several known pterosaur genera , which Vectidraco located within the Azhdarchoidea , but outside the Neoazhdarchidae .
swell
literature
- Darren Naish, Martin Simpson, Gareth Dyke : A New Small-Bodied Azhdarchoid Pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of England and Its Implications for Pterosaur Anatomy, Diversity and Phylogeny. In: PLOS ONE . Vol. 8, No. 3, 2013, e58451, doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0058451 .
