Generic name meaning ash-winged dawn goddess, derived from eos (Greek mythology for goddess of the dawn), tephra (ancient Greek for ash), referring to the original volcanic ash that yielded the high precision U-Pb date and to Pilot Rock, and the more recent (MiocenePliocene) volcanic peak in the northern part of PEFO, and daktylos, (ancient Greek for digit), referring to the fourth finger making up the pterosaur wing
Full reference: B. T. Kligman, R. L. Whatley, J. Ramezani, A. D. Marsh, T. R. Lyson, A. J. Fitch, W. G. Parker and A. K. Behrensmeyer. 2025. Unusual bone bed reveals a vertebrate community with pterosaurs and turtles in equatorial Pangaea before the end-Triassic extinction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122(29):1-11
Parent taxon: Pterosauria according to B. T. Kligman et al. 2025
Sister taxa: Aidacharidae, Anmolpakhi, Antipus, Archaeopteryx vicensensis, Arcticodactylus, Austriadactylus, Austriadraco, Austriadraconidae, Campylognathoides indicus, Campylognathoididae, Carniadactylus, Caviramus, Daohugoupterus, Eopterosauria, Eurolimnornis, Eurolimnornis corneti, Laopteryx, Laopteryx priscus, Macronychoptera, Ornithocephaliformes, Ornithocheirus hilsensis, Ornithocheirus nobilis, Ornithochirus, Palaeocursornis, Preondactylus, Ptenodactylus brachyrhinus, Ptenodactylus capito, Ptenodactylus crassidens, Ptenodactylus dentatus, Ptenodactylus enchorhynchus, Ptenodactylus eurygnathus, Ptenodactylus macrorhinus, Ptenodactylus oxyrhinus, Ptenodactylus platystomus, Ptenodactylus polyodon, Ptenodactylus scaphorhynchus, Ptenodactylus tenuirostris, Pteraichnidae, Pteranodontes, Pterodactyli, Pterodactyloidea, Pterodactylus curtus, Pterodactylus hopkinsi, Pterodactylus huxleyi, Pterodactylus oweni, Pterodactylus primus, Pterodactylus suprajurensis, Rhamphorhynchoidea, Rhamphorhynchus jessoni, Rhamphorhynchus manselii, Rhamphorhynchus pleydellii, Samrukia, Scaphognathoidea, Seazzadactylus, Sharivopterygia, Tribelesodontoidea, Wukongopteridae, Ptenodactylus
Subtaxa: Eotephradactylus mcintireae
Type: Eotephradactylus mcintireae
Ecology: volant piscivore
Distribution: found only at PFV 393 bonebed (Triassic of Arizona)
Specimen images are retrieved through the ePANDDA API.
Click image to enlarge. Click to access iDigBio record.