Aided by local villagers, a team of paleontologists had been excavating at several locations in the Kem Kem Beds during April, and November to December 2008, uncovering remains of several different pterosaurs. The material was fragmentary, and the type locality for Alanqa is Aferdou N'Chaft, near the village of Begaa and 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) to the north-east of Taouz.[1]
Descriptionedit
Holotype specimen (FSAC-KK 26)
Alanqa is known only from five fragments of the front upper and lower jaws, and possibly a neck vertebra, representing the single type speciesAlanqa saharica.[1] Two of these fragments were first described, but not named, by Wellnhofer and Buffetaut in 1999, and referred to a pteranodontid.[2] Three additional jaw specimens, including a better preserved upper jaw, were described and named by Ibrahim and colleagues in 2010.[1] The jaws were straight and pointed, like those of the azhdarchidsQuetzalcoatlus and Zhejiangopterus. Based on comparison to related species, the Alanqa saharica the individuals known from jaw specimens probably had wingspans of about 4 meters (13 ft). However, according to Ibrahim and colleagues, the vertebra (which probably belonged to the same species) appeared to come from a larger individual, measuring about 6 meters (20 ft) in wingspan.[1] An individual of such size would have weighed 9–13 kilograms (20–29 lb).[3]
A rostrum fragment was described in 2015 and referred to cf. Alanqa based on provenance. This fragment has two bony protuberances where the jaw occludes, coinciding with an eminence on one of the mandibles originally referred to Alanqa. These imply an unusual functional specialization in this pterosaur; possible functions include visual display, anchoring of soft tissue, and crushing hard-shelled food.[4] However, this specimen probably belongs to Xericeps, based on shared features with this taxon.[5]
Classificationedit
In its initial description, Alanqa was referred to the Azhdarchidae, based on the similarity of its jaws to those of Quetzalcoatlus and Zhejiangopterus.[1] This result was reproduced by a subsequent analysis.[6] Another analysis, this time by Nicholas Longrich and colleagues in 2018, recovered Alanqa as a thalassodromid, sister taxon to Aerotitan (a pterosaur also assigned as an azhdarchid). However, this concept is not well-supported.[7] The cladogram of their analysis is shown below:
A 2022 study by Rodrigo Pêgas and colleagues showed dissimilarities between Aerotitan and Alanqa, as well as other thalassodromines. The former was recovered as an azhdarchid, while Alanqa was recovered as a basal azhdarchoid related to Keresdrakon, both forming the new clade Alanqidae.[5]
Alanqa was recovered from the Kem Kem Group of the late Cenomanian period, then a freshwater delta system. It is believed to have been in the middle of the ecosystem's food web, preying on both small animals like crustaceans and mollusks,[4] amphibians like Kababisha and Oumtkoutia, small to medium-sized reptiles like Simoliophis libycus, and even small or juvenile dinosaurs, much like other azhdarchids. On the other hand, Alanqa would be a prey item for the large predators of the ecosystem, such as theropod dinosaurs, (Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Sauroniops), crocodyliforms like Aegisuchus, and possibly a currently-unidentified madtsoiid snake.
^ abcdefIbrahim, Nizar; Unwin, David M; Martill, David M; Baidder, Lahssen; Zouhri, Samir (2010). "A New Pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco". PLOS ONE. 5 (5): e10875. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...510875I. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010875. PMC2877115. PMID 20520782.
^Wellnhofer, Peter; Buffetaut, Eric (1999). "Pterosaur remains from the Cretaceous of Morocco". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 73 (1–2): 133–142. Bibcode:1999PalZ...73..133W. doi:10.1007/BF02987987. S2CID 129032233.
^Cariad J. Williams; Martino Pani; Andrea Bucchi; Roy E. Smith; Alexander Kao; William Keeble; Nizar Ibrahim; David M. Martill (2021). "Helically arranged cross struts in azhdarchid pterosaur cervical vertebrae and their biomechanical implications". iScience. 24 (4). 102338. Bibcode:2021iSci...24j2338W. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102338. PMC8101050. PMID 33997669.
^ abMartill, David M; Ibrahim, Nizar (2015). "An unusual modification of the jaws in cf. Alanqa, a mid-Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur from the Kem Kem beds of Morocco". Cretaceous Research. 53: 59–67. Bibcode:2015CrRes..53...59M. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.11.001.
^ abPêgas RV, Holgado B, Ortiz David LD, Baiano MA, Costa FR (2022). "On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus (Neuquén Basin, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina), with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy". Cretaceous Research. 129: Article 104998. Bibcode:2022CrRes.12904998P. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104998. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 238725853.
^Vullo, Romain; Garcia, Géraldine; Pascal, Godefroit; Cincotta, Aude; Valentin, Xavier (2018). "Mistralazhdarcho maggii, gen. et sp. nov., a new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of southeastern France". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 38 (4): (1)-(16). doi:10.1080/02724634.2018.1502670. S2CID 91265861.
^Longrich, Nicholas R; Martill, David M; Andres, Brian (2018). "Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary". PLOS Biology. 16 (3): e2001663. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2001663. PMC5849296. PMID 29534059.
alanqa, genus, pterodactyloid, pterosaur, from, late, cretaceous, period, cenomanian, stage, what, beds, southeastern, morocco, name, comes, from, arabic, word, العنقاء, anqā, mythical, bird, arabian, culture, temporal, range, cenomanian, preꞒ, lower, left, ma. Alanqa is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period Cenomanian stage of what is now the Kem Kem Beds of southeastern Morocco The name Alanqa comes from the Arabic word العنقاء al Anqa for a mythical bird of Arabian culture 1 AlanqaTemporal range Cenomanian 95 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Lower jaw top left matched with the rostrum of Apatorhamphus compared to the skull of Zhejiangopterus top right and the lower jaw of Quetzalcoatlus bottom Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataOrder PterosauriaSuborder PterodactyloideaFamily AlanqidaeGenus AlanqaIbrahim et al 2010Species A saharicaBinomial name Alanqa saharicaIbrahim et al 2010 Contents 1 Discovery 2 Description 3 Classification 4 Paleoecology 5 See also 6 ReferencesDiscovery editAided by local villagers a team of paleontologists had been excavating at several locations in the Kem Kem Beds during April and November to December 2008 uncovering remains of several different pterosaurs The material was fragmentary and the type locality for Alanqa is Aferdou N Chaft near the village of Begaa and 10 kilometers 6 2 mi to the north east of Taouz 1 Description edit nbsp Holotype specimen FSAC KK 26 Alanqa is known only from five fragments of the front upper and lower jaws and possibly a neck vertebra representing the single type species Alanqa saharica 1 Two of these fragments were first described but not named by Wellnhofer and Buffetaut in 1999 and referred to a pteranodontid 2 Three additional jaw specimens including a better preserved upper jaw were described and named by Ibrahim and colleagues in 2010 1 The jaws were straight and pointed like those of the azhdarchids Quetzalcoatlus and Zhejiangopterus Based on comparison to related species the Alanqa saharica the individuals known from jaw specimens probably had wingspans of about 4 meters 13 ft However according to Ibrahim and colleagues the vertebra which probably belonged to the same species appeared to come from a larger individual measuring about 6 meters 20 ft in wingspan 1 An individual of such size would have weighed 9 13 kilograms 20 29 lb 3 A rostrum fragment was described in 2015 and referred to cf Alanqa based on provenance This fragment has two bony protuberances where the jaw occludes coinciding with an eminence on one of the mandibles originally referred to Alanqa These imply an unusual functional specialization in this pterosaur possible functions include visual display anchoring of soft tissue and crushing hard shelled food 4 However this specimen probably belongs to Xericeps based on shared features with this taxon 5 Classification editIn its initial description Alanqa was referred to the Azhdarchidae based on the similarity of its jaws to those of Quetzalcoatlus and Zhejiangopterus 1 This result was reproduced by a subsequent analysis 6 Another analysis this time by Nicholas Longrich and colleagues in 2018 recovered Alanqa as a thalassodromid sister taxon to Aerotitan a pterosaur also assigned as an azhdarchid However this concept is not well supported 7 The cladogram of their analysis is shown below Dsungaripteromorpha DsungaripteridaeThalassodromidae Tupuxuara longicristatusTupuxuara leonardiiThalassodromeus sethiAlanqa saharicaAerotitan sudamericanusA 2022 study by Rodrigo Pegas and colleagues showed dissimilarities between Aerotitan and Alanqa as well as other thalassodromines The former was recovered as an azhdarchid while Alanqa was recovered as a basal azhdarchoid related to Keresdrakon both forming the new clade Alanqidae 5 Tapejaroidea DsungaripteridaeAzhdarchoidea TapejaridaeAzhdarchomorpha Alanqidae AlanqaKeresdrakonChaoyangopteridaeRadiodactylusAzhdarchidaePaleoecology editAlanqa was recovered from the Kem Kem Group of the late Cenomanian period then a freshwater delta system It is believed to have been in the middle of the ecosystem s food web preying on both small animals like crustaceans and mollusks 4 amphibians like Kababisha and Oumtkoutia small to medium sized reptiles like Simoliophis libycus and even small or juvenile dinosaurs much like other azhdarchids On the other hand Alanqa would be a prey item for the large predators of the ecosystem such as theropod dinosaurs Spinosaurus Carcharodontosaurus and Sauroniops crocodyliforms like Aegisuchus and possibly a currently unidentified madtsoiid snake See also editTimeline of pterosaur research List of pterosaurs 2010 in paleontologyReferences edit a b c d e f Ibrahim Nizar Unwin David M Martill David M Baidder Lahssen Zouhri Samir 2010 A New Pterosaur Pterodactyloidea Azhdarchidae from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco PLOS ONE 5 5 e10875 Bibcode 2010PLoSO 510875I doi 10 1371 journal pone 0010875 PMC 2877115 PMID 20520782 Wellnhofer Peter Buffetaut Eric 1999 Pterosaur remains from the Cretaceous of Morocco Palaontologische Zeitschrift 73 1 2 133 142 Bibcode 1999PalZ 73 133W doi 10 1007 BF02987987 S2CID 129032233 Cariad J Williams Martino Pani Andrea Bucchi Roy E Smith Alexander Kao William Keeble Nizar Ibrahim David M Martill 2021 Helically arranged cross struts in azhdarchid pterosaur cervical vertebrae and their biomechanical implications iScience 24 4 102338 Bibcode 2021iSci 24j2338W doi 10 1016 j isci 2021 102338 PMC 8101050 PMID 33997669 a b Martill David M Ibrahim Nizar 2015 An unusual modification of the jaws in cf Alanqa a mid Cretaceous azhdarchid pterosaur from the Kem Kem beds of Morocco Cretaceous Research 53 59 67 Bibcode 2015CrRes 53 59M doi 10 1016 j cretres 2014 11 001 a b Pegas RV Holgado B Ortiz David LD Baiano MA Costa FR 2022 On the pterosaur Aerotitan sudamericanus Neuquen Basin Upper Cretaceous of Argentina with comments on azhdarchoid phylogeny and jaw anatomy Cretaceous Research 129 Article 104998 Bibcode 2022CrRes 12904998P doi 10 1016 j cretres 2021 104998 ISSN 0195 6671 S2CID 238725853 Vullo Romain Garcia Geraldine Pascal Godefroit Cincotta Aude Valentin Xavier 2018 Mistralazhdarcho maggii gen et sp nov a new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of southeastern France Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38 4 1 16 doi 10 1080 02724634 2018 1502670 S2CID 91265861 Longrich Nicholas R Martill David M Andres Brian 2018 Late Maastrichtian pterosaurs from North Africa and mass extinction of Pterosauria at the Cretaceous Paleogene boundary PLOS Biology 16 3 e2001663 doi 10 1371 journal pbio 2001663 PMC 5849296 PMID 29534059 Portals nbsp Paleontology nbsp Morocco Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alanqa amp oldid 1205968950, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
