A new large pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia

• Here, we expand the meager record of Late Cretaceous South American pterosaurs with the description of a partial rostrum belonging to a large azhdarchid pterodactyloid. The specimen was collected close to the Bajo de Arriagada locality, corresponding to the uppermost Cretaceous Allen Formation of Argentina, around 80 km northwest of the well-sampled Bajo de Santa Rosa locality. The specimen represents the first unambiguous evidence of an azhdarchid pterosaur from South America. This specimen represents a new genus and species, Aerotitan sudamericanus, which is diagnosed based ona unique combination of characters, including one autapomorphy,and represents one of the largest known South Americanpterosaurs. The fossil here described resulted from a joint Argentine-Swedish paleontological expedition to Patagonia.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Azhdarchidae

Aerotitan sudamericanus

Patagonia

paleogeography

evolution

Biologi med inriktning mot evolutionär organismbiologi

Biology with specialization in Evolutionary Organismal Biology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

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