Maaradactylus is based on the Museu Paleontologico de Santana do Cariri specimen MPSC R 2357, a skull, atlas, and axis discovered in 2010 in the Aptian—Albian-age Romualdo Formation of Sítio São Gonçalo, Santana do Cariri, Ceará, in the Araripe Basin of Brazil.
Maaradactylus was described by Renan Bantim and colleagues in 2014. The type species is Maaradactylus kellneri. The generic name refers to Maara, in the legends of the Cariri the daughter of a chief, by sorcery changed into a river monster with long teeth, devouring fishermen. The suffix ~dactylus is common in the names of pterosaurs and is derived from Greek δάκτυλος, daktylos, "finger", referring to the long (fourth) wing finger. The specific name honors Alexander Kellner, Brazil's foremost pterosaur expert.[2]
In 2019, the species Coloborhynchus spielbergi, also assigned as Anhanguera spielbergi, was reassigned to Maaradactylus by Megan L. Jacobs and colleagues as M. spielbergi.[3] This species was named after the filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the director of Jurassic Park by André J. Veldmeijer.[4] The holotype of this species was prepared from a chunk of limestone of Albian-age originating from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation in Brazil and has been part of the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, The Netherlands since 1992.[5] A replica is on display in one of the museum exhibitions.
Descriptionedit
Maaradactylus had one of the largest anhanguerid skulls from the Santana Group, and this indicated a wingspan estimate of about 6 meters (20 ft). This anhanguerid also has a relatively tall crest running along the midline of the premaxillary bones, which make up most of the upper beak region, and placements for 35 pairs of teeth in the upper jaws.[2]
The formerly known Coloborhynchus spielbergi (alternatively Anhanguera spielbergi), now Maaradactylus spielbergi, had rounded crests at the ends of expanded upper and lower jaws, similar to the related ornithocheirids.[6] However, rather than the crests being robust and box-shaped as seen in many ornithocheirid genera, the jaw tips were more slender and spoon-shaped, and the crest is thin from top to bottom, both features commonly seen in anhanguerid species typically referred to the genus Anhanguera, a genus in which M. speilbergi was classified by some researchers as A. spielbergi. As in other ornithocheirids, the size and orientation of the teeth vary considerably along the jawline. In M. spielbergi, the tooth pattern has been described as more similar to Anhanguera rather than to Tropeognathus.[3]
Classificationedit
Skull reconstruction of the species M. kellneri
A topology recovered by Jacobs et al. in 2019 recovered Maaradactylus within the family Anhangueridae, and as the sister taxon of several Anhanguera species. Their cladogram is shown on the left.[3] In 2020 however, a study by Borja Holgado and Rodrigo Pêgas had recovered Maaradactylus as the sister taxon of Cearadactylus, both belonging to the subfamily Anhanguerinae. Their cladogram is shown on the right.[7]
^Rodrigues, Taiss; Kellner, Alexander W. A. (2008). "Review of the pterodactyloid pterosaur Coloborhynchus" (PDF). Zitteliana. 28: 219–228.
^ abRenan A. M. Bantim; Antônio A. F. Saraiva; Gustavo R. Oliveira; Juliana M. Sayão (2014). "A new toothed pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Anhangueridae) from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation, NE Brazil". Zootaxa. 3869 (3): 201–223. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3869.3.1. PMID 25283914.
^ abcJacobs, M.L.; Martill, D.M.; Ibrahim, N.; Longrich, N. (2019). "A new species of Coloborhynchus (Pterosauria, Ornithocheiridae) from the mid-Cretaceous of North Africa" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 95: 77–88. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.10.018. S2CID 134439172.
^Veldmeijer, A.J. (2003). "Description of Coloborhynchus spielbergi sp. nov.(Pterodactyloidea) from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil". Scripta Geologica. 125 (35): e139.
^Veldmeijer, A.J., H.J.M. Meijer, and M. Signore (2006). "Coloborhynchus from the Lower Cretaceous Santana Formation, Brazil (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Anhangueridae); an update." PalArch's Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, 3(2): 15–29.
^Holgado, B.; Pêgas, R.V. (2020). "A taxonomic and phylogenetic review of the anhanguerid pterosaur group Coloborhynchinae and the new clade Tropeognathinae". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65. doi:10.4202/app.00751.2020.
maaradactylus, genus, anhanguerid, pterodactyloid, pterosaur, known, from, lower, cretaceous, period, aptian, albian, stages, romualdo, formation, northeastern, brazil, temporal, range, aptian, albian, preꞒ, nreconstructed, skeleton, species, spielbergi, displ. Maaradactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous period Aptian to Albian stages of the Romualdo Formation of northeastern Brazil MaaradactylusTemporal range Aptian Albian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NReconstructed skeleton of the species M spielbergi on display in Naturalis Biodiversity CenterScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataOrder PterosauriaSuborder PterodactyloideaFamily AnhangueridaeSubfamily AnhanguerinaeGenus MaaradactylusBantim et al 2014Type species Maaradactylus kellneriBantim et al 2014Other species M spielbergi Veldmeijer 2003 Jacobs et al 2019SynonymsSynonyms of M spielbergi Coloborhynchus spielbergi Veldmeijer 2003Anhanguera spielbergi Veldmeijer 2003 Kellner 2006 1 Contents 1 Discovery 2 Description 3 Classification 4 See also 5 ReferencesDiscovery edit nbsp Specimen MPSC R 2357 from the Araripe Basin BrazilMaaradactylus is based on the Museu Paleontologico de Santana do Cariri specimen MPSC R 2357 a skull atlas and axis discovered in 2010 in the Aptian Albian age Romualdo Formation of Sitio Sao Goncalo Santana do Cariri Ceara in the Araripe Basin of Brazil Maaradactylus was described by Renan Bantim and colleagues in 2014 The type species is Maaradactylus kellneri The generic name refers to Maara in the legends of the Cariri the daughter of a chief by sorcery changed into a river monster with long teeth devouring fishermen The suffix dactylus is common in the names of pterosaurs and is derived from Greek daktylos daktylos finger referring to the long fourth wing finger The specific name honors Alexander Kellner Brazil s foremost pterosaur expert 2 In 2019 the species Coloborhynchus spielbergi also assigned as Anhanguera spielbergi was reassigned to Maaradactylus by Megan L Jacobs and colleagues as M spielbergi 3 This species was named after the filmmaker Steven Spielberg the director of Jurassic Park by Andre J Veldmeijer 4 The holotype of this species was prepared from a chunk of limestone of Albian age originating from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation in Brazil and has been part of the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden The Netherlands since 1992 5 A replica is on display in one of the museum exhibitions Description editMaaradactylus had one of the largest anhanguerid skulls from the Santana Group and this indicated a wingspan estimate of about 6 meters 20 ft This anhanguerid also has a relatively tall crest running along the midline of the premaxillary bones which make up most of the upper beak region and placements for 35 pairs of teeth in the upper jaws 2 The formerly known Coloborhynchus spielbergi alternatively Anhanguera spielbergi now Maaradactylus spielbergi had rounded crests at the ends of expanded upper and lower jaws similar to the related ornithocheirids 6 However rather than the crests being robust and box shaped as seen in many ornithocheirid genera the jaw tips were more slender and spoon shaped and the crest is thin from top to bottom both features commonly seen in anhanguerid species typically referred to the genus Anhanguera a genus in which M speilbergi was classified by some researchers as A spielbergi As in other ornithocheirids the size and orientation of the teeth vary considerably along the jawline In M spielbergi the tooth pattern has been described as more similar to Anhanguera rather than to Tropeognathus 3 Classification edit nbsp Skull reconstruction of the species M kellneriA topology recovered by Jacobs et al in 2019 recovered Maaradactylus within the family Anhangueridae and as the sister taxon of several Anhanguera species Their cladogram is shown on the left 3 In 2020 however a study by Borja Holgado and Rodrigo Pegas had recovered Maaradactylus as the sister taxon of Cearadactylus both belonging to the subfamily Anhanguerinae Their cladogram is shown on the right 7 Topology 1 Jacobs et al 2019 Ornithocheirae Anhangueridae Maaradactylus kellneriMaaradactylus spielbergiAnhanguera piscatorAnhanguera robustusAnhanguera araripensisOrnithocheiridae Topology 2 Holgado amp Pegas 2020 Anhangueridae Tropeognathinae SiroccopteryxTropeognathusMythungaFerrodracoColoborhynchinae ColoborhynchusNicorhynchusUktenadactylusAnhanguerinae CaulkicephalusGuidracoLudodactylusLiaoningopterusCearadactylusMaaradactylusAnhangueraSee also editList of pterosaur genera Timeline of pterosaur researchReferences edit Rodrigues Taiss Kellner Alexander W A 2008 Review of the pterodactyloid pterosaur Coloborhynchus PDF Zitteliana 28 219 228 a b Renan A M Bantim Antonio A F Saraiva Gustavo R Oliveira Juliana M Sayao 2014 A new toothed pterosaur Pterodactyloidea Anhangueridae from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation NE Brazil Zootaxa 3869 3 201 223 doi 10 11646 zootaxa 3869 3 1 PMID 25283914 a b c Jacobs M L Martill D M Ibrahim N Longrich N 2019 A new species of Coloborhynchus Pterosauria Ornithocheiridae from the mid Cretaceous of North Africa PDF Cretaceous Research 95 77 88 doi 10 1016 j cretres 2018 10 018 S2CID 134439172 Veldmeijer A J 2003 Description of Coloborhynchus spielbergi sp nov Pterodactyloidea from the Albian Lower Cretaceous of Brazil Scripta Geologica 125 35 e139 Coloborhynchus spielbergi Veldmeijer A J H J M Meijer and M Signore 2006 Coloborhynchus from the Lower Cretaceous Santana Formation Brazil Pterosauria Pterodactyloidea Anhangueridae an update PalArch s Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology 3 2 15 29 Holgado B Pegas R V 2020 A taxonomic and phylogenetic review of the anhanguerid pterosaur group Coloborhynchinae and the new clade Tropeognathinae Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 65 doi 10 4202 app 00751 2020 Portals nbsp Paleontology nbsp Brazil Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maaradactylus amp oldid 1206644760, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
