TY - JOUR
T1 - New ctenochasmatid pterosaur record for Gondwana
T2 - discovery in the Lower Cretaceous continental deposits of the Atacama Desert, northern Chile
AU - Alarcón-Muñoz, Jhonatan
AU - Soto-Acuña, Sergio
AU - Codorniú, Laura
AU - Rubilar-Rogers, David
AU - Sallaberry, Michel
AU - Suárez, Manuel
N1 - Funding Information:
The review of the Pterodaustro guinazui material housed in the Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Argentina, was made possible by the “Ayudas para estadías cortas de investigación destinadas a estudiantes tesistas de doctorado y magíster de la Universidad de Chile”. This study was funded by the Proyecto Anillo en Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología ( PIA, CONICYT ) ACT172099 “New Data Sources on the Fossil Record and Evolution of Vertebrates”. J.A.M received the CONICYT grant for masters' studies in Chile. We acknowledge Dániel Bajor for his review of the English version of this text. Leslie Manríquez and Saleta de Los Arcos for their suggestions to the first versions of this work. David Martill and an anonymous reviewer for the important suggestions for improvement the final version of the manuscript. Rodrigo A. Otero for taking the photograph of the specimen SGO.PV.364 in dorsal view, and the National Council of Science of Argentina (CONICET) and Universidad Nacional de San Luis, under grant CyT N° P31416 to L.C.
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - New pterosaur remains from Cerro La Isla, Quebrada Monardes Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Northern Chile, are described. The material comprises mandibular remains preserving dental bases and two vertebrae of the mid cervical series. The morphology and arrangement of the dental bases show a similar pattern to that observed in European and Chinese ctenochasmatids, but can be distinguished from those other South American ctenochasmatids reported from Argentina and Uruguay. The new vertebrae share certain characteristics with the mid cervical vertebrae of ctenochasmatids, such as very elongated centra with low neural arches, low and elongated neural spines, the presence of postexapophyses and a pair of oval pneumatic foramina on the lateral surfaces of the centra. Although most of these features are shared with the mid cervical vertebrae of azhdarchid pterosaurs, the lower integration of the neural arch, which does not acquire a tubular morphology in the mid-point of the vertebral centrum, together with the presence of oval pneumatic foramina, are characteristics that allow the referral of both vertebrae to the Ctenochasmatidae. The vertebral, mandibular and rostral remains from Cerro La Isla suggest the presence of a previously unknown ctenochasmatid pterosaur, distinct from Pterodaustro, the only other South American taxon.
AB - New pterosaur remains from Cerro La Isla, Quebrada Monardes Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Northern Chile, are described. The material comprises mandibular remains preserving dental bases and two vertebrae of the mid cervical series. The morphology and arrangement of the dental bases show a similar pattern to that observed in European and Chinese ctenochasmatids, but can be distinguished from those other South American ctenochasmatids reported from Argentina and Uruguay. The new vertebrae share certain characteristics with the mid cervical vertebrae of ctenochasmatids, such as very elongated centra with low neural arches, low and elongated neural spines, the presence of postexapophyses and a pair of oval pneumatic foramina on the lateral surfaces of the centra. Although most of these features are shared with the mid cervical vertebrae of azhdarchid pterosaurs, the lower integration of the neural arch, which does not acquire a tubular morphology in the mid-point of the vertebral centrum, together with the presence of oval pneumatic foramina, are characteristics that allow the referral of both vertebrae to the Ctenochasmatidae. The vertebral, mandibular and rostral remains from Cerro La Isla suggest the presence of a previously unknown ctenochasmatid pterosaur, distinct from Pterodaustro, the only other South American taxon.
KW - Chile
KW - Ctenochasmatidae
KW - Lower Cretaceous
KW - Pterosauria
KW - Quebrada Monardes Formation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85081198995&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104378
DO - 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104378
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85081198995
SN - 0195-6671
VL - 110
JO - Cretaceous Research
JF - Cretaceous Research
M1 - 104378
ER -