All known specimens of Simurghia were uncovered in a 3-year dig that unearthed about 200 pterosaur specimens. The type specimen, FSAC-OB 7, consists of a nearly complete humerus, lacking only the humeral head and the ulnar crest.[1]
Simurghia is named after a flying beast from Persian mythology known as the Simurgh. The species name, S. robusta, is a Latin word that means "robust."[1]
Classificationedit
Size of Simurghia (top middle) compared to other pterosaurs, birds, and a human
Below is a cladogram showing the results of a phylogenetic analysis first presented by Andres and colleagues in 2014, and updated with additional data by Longrich and colleagues in 2018. In this analysis, they found Simurghia to be the sister taxon of the species Alcione elainus, both placed within the family Nyctosauridae.[2][1]
Simurghia is similar in form to Alcione, but is unlikely to represent an adult of this species. All specimens of Alcione are either subadults or adults, based on their bone's dense avascular surface texture, well ossified condyles, and fused synsacrum and scapulocoracoid. Additionally, lack of intermediately sized humeri would suggest that these pterosaurs are distinct from each other. Using isometric scaling, Simurghia would weigh 560% more than Alcione, making sexual dimorphism or intraspecific variation unlikely. It is estimated to have a wingspan of 5 m (16 ft).[1]
Paleoecologyedit
Locality and stratigraphy of the discovery site of Simurghia.
Simurghia was discovered in upper Maastrichtian phosphates located in the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Northern Morocco. This geological formation does not belong to a formation. It is divided into couches, with Simurghia being discovered in Couche III. This layer dates back to the latest Maastrichtian, about 1 million years before the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. Couche III represents the most diverse marine ecosystem known from the time.[1]
A large variety of marine life is known from the region, including sharks and bony fish, in addition to turtles, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs. A few rare, fragmentary dinosaur fossils are known, including an abelisaur and a sauropod. Other pterosaurs in the formation were originally only represented by the azhdarchidPhosphatodraco mauritanicus. However, in addition to Simurghia, more recent studies have revealed at least five more pterosaur species from this location, including Barbaridactylus, Alcione and Tethydraco.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefgLongrich, Nicholas R.; Martill, David M.; Andres, Brian; Penny, David (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.
^Andres, B.; Clark, J.; Xu, X. (2014). "The Earliest Pterodactyloid and the Origin of the Group". Current Biology. 24 (9): 1011–6. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.030. PMID 24768054.
^Fernandes, Alexandra E.; Mateus, Octávio; Andres, Brian; Polcyn, Michael J.; Schulp, Anne S.; Gonçalves, António Olímpio; Jacobs, Louis L. (2022). "Pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Angola". Diversity. 14 (9). 741. doi:10.3390/d14090741.
simurghia, genus, pterosaur, from, ouled, abdoun, basin, morocco, basin, that, dates, maastrichtian, stage, late, cretaceous, period, about, million, years, published, 2018, paleontologists, nicholas, longrich, david, martill, brian, andres, along, with, other. Simurghia is a genus of pterosaur from the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco a basin that dates to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period about 66 million years ago It was published in 2018 by paleontologists Nicholas R Longrich David M Martill and Brian Andres along with two other pterosaurs from the same basin Alcione and Barbaridactylus 1 The type and only species is S robusta SimurghiaTemporal range Late Cretaceous 66 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Holotype humerusScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataOrder PterosauriaSuborder PterodactyloideaClade PteranodontiaClade AponyctosauriaGenus SimurghiaLongrich Martill amp Andres 2018Type species Simurghia robustaLongrich Martill amp Andres 2018 Contents 1 Discovery and naming 2 Classification 3 Paleobiology 4 Paleoecology 5 ReferencesDiscovery and naming editAll known specimens of Simurghia were uncovered in a 3 year dig that unearthed about 200 pterosaur specimens The type specimen FSAC OB 7 consists of a nearly complete humerus lacking only the humeral head and the ulnar crest 1 Simurghia is named after a flying beast from Persian mythology known as the Simurgh The species name S robusta is a Latin word that means robust 1 Classification edit nbsp Size of Simurghia top middle compared to other pterosaurs birds and a humanBelow is a cladogram showing the results of a phylogenetic analysis first presented by Andres and colleagues in 2014 and updated with additional data by Longrich and colleagues in 2018 In this analysis they found Simurghia to be the sister taxon of the species Alcione elainus both placed within the family Nyctosauridae 2 1 Pteranodontia Pteranodontidae Pteranodon sternbergiPteranodon longicepsTethydraco regalisNyctosauridae Alamodactylus byrdiVolgadraco bogoluboviCretornis hlavaciAlcione elainusSimurghia robustaMuzquizopteryx coahuilensisBarbaridactylus grandisNyctosaurus lamegoiNyctosaurus nanusNyctosaurus gracilisIn their phylogenetic analyses Fernandes et al 2022 recovered Simurghia as the sister taxon to Epapatelo and Alcione These taxa along with the Nyctosauridae comprise the new clade Aponyctosauria 3 Pteranodontia TethydracoPteranodon longicepsPteranodon sternbergi Geosternbergia AlamodactylusVolgadracoCretornisAponyctosauria EpapateloSimurghiaAlcioneNyctosauridae MuzquizopteryxNyctosaurus lamegoiNyctosaurus grandis Barbaridactylus Nyctosaurus nanusNyctosaurus gracilisPaleobiology editSimurghia is similar in form to Alcione but is unlikely to represent an adult of this species All specimens of Alcione are either subadults or adults based on their bone s dense avascular surface texture well ossified condyles and fused synsacrum and scapulocoracoid Additionally lack of intermediately sized humeri would suggest that these pterosaurs are distinct from each other Using isometric scaling Simurghia would weigh 560 more than Alcione making sexual dimorphism or intraspecific variation unlikely It is estimated to have a wingspan of 5 m 16 ft 1 Paleoecology edit nbsp Locality and stratigraphy of the discovery site of Simurghia Simurghia was discovered in upper Maastrichtian phosphates located in the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Northern Morocco This geological formation does not belong to a formation It is divided into couches with Simurghia being discovered in Couche III This layer dates back to the latest Maastrichtian about 1 million years before the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Couche III represents the most diverse marine ecosystem known from the time 1 A large variety of marine life is known from the region including sharks and bony fish in addition to turtles plesiosaurs and mosasaurs A few rare fragmentary dinosaur fossils are known including an abelisaur and a sauropod Other pterosaurs in the formation were originally only represented by the azhdarchid Phosphatodraco mauritanicus However in addition to Simurghia more recent studies have revealed at least five more pterosaur species from this location including Barbaridactylus Alcione and Tethydraco 1 References edit a b c d e f g Longrich Nicholas R Martill David M Andres Brian Penny David 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 Andres B Clark J Xu X 2014 The Earliest Pterodactyloid and the Origin of the Group Current Biology 24 9 1011 6 doi 10 1016 j cub 2014 03 030 PMID 24768054 Fernandes Alexandra E Mateus Octavio Andres Brian Polcyn Michael J Schulp Anne S Goncalves Antonio Olimpio Jacobs Louis L 2022 Pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Angola Diversity 14 9 741 doi 10 3390 d14090741 Portals nbsp Paleontology nbsp Cretaceous nbsp Morocco Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Simurghia amp oldid 1155084573, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
