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Aurorazhdarcho primordius

Reptilia - Pterosauria - Protazhdarchidae

Taxonomy
Aurorazhdarcho primordius was named by Frey et al. (2011). Its type specimen is NMB Sh 110, a partial skeleton (a single articulated skull- and neckless specimen), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Blumenberg quarry, Eichstätt (Peter Katschmekat collection, 1998), which is in a Tithonian lagoonal/restricted shallow subtidal lime mudstone in the Solnhofen Formation of Germany. It is the type species of Aurorazhdarcho.

Synonymy list
YearName and author
2011Aurorazhdarcho primordius Frey et al. p. S40 figs. 2-3
2013Aurorazhdarcho primordius Bennett

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
RankNameAuthor
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
Romeriida
Diapsida()
Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
Crocopoda
ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
Eucrocopoda
Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
Ornithodira
PterosauromorphaPadian 1997
orderPterosauriaKaup 1834
suborderPterodactyloideaPlieninger 1901
superfamilyAzhdarchoideaUnwin 1992
familyProtazhdarchidae
genusAurorazhdarcho
speciesprimordius

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Aurorazhdarcho primordius Frey et al. 2011
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
E. Frey et al. 2011[As for family Protazhdarchidae and genus Auroazhdarcho]
S. C. Bennett 2013Upper Jurassic pterodactyloid with elongate skull, slender and elongated rostrum, and superior margin of the skull markedly concave upward; naso-antorbital fenestra length ~20–25% of skull length in small individuals; jaws of small individuals bearing up to 18 closely spaced, long, gently curving teeth per jaw side, anterior teeth angled anteriorly, posterior teeth shorter and more upright, and the upper and lower teeth interlocking to form a basket for sieving food items from water, but teeth shorter and stouter than in Ctenochasma. The skull is unknown in large individuals. Cervical vertebrae 3–7 of moderate length, and neck relatively shorter than in Pterodactylus and Ardeadactylus (shared with Ctenochasma and Cycnorhamphus). McIV exhibits marked positive allometry relative to the radius: in small specimens the radius length exceeds McIV length but the opposite is the case in middling to large specimens; in small to middling specimens WP2 is ~62–74% of WP1 length, in the large specimen 59%, and WP1-4 lengths typically exhibit a concave upward curve in modified Nopcsa curves (Fig. 11). In the pes, MtI is greater than MtII in length and the proximal phalanges of digit I–IV are subequal in length (shared with Ctenochasma).
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: marineo
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: volanto
Diet: piscivoreo
Created: 2009-01-04 11:38:30
Modified: 2017-04-17 10:39:23
Source: o = order, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Carroll 1988, Padian 1985, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: Early/Lower Tithonian or 150.80000 to 145.00000 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Early/Lower Tithonian150.8 - 145.0Germany (Bayern) Aurorazhdarcho primordius (type locality: 138219)