Austriadactylus
Encyclopedia
Austriadactylus is a genus
of "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaur
. The fossil remains were unearthed in Late Triassic
rocks of Austria
.
The genus was named in 2002 by Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia e.a.. The type species
is Austriadactylus cristatus. The genus name is derived from Latin
Austria and Greek daktylos, "finger", in reference to the wing finger of pterosaurs. The specific epithet means "crested" in Latin, a reference to the skull crest.
The genus is based on holotype
SMNS 56342, a crushed partial skeleton on a slab, found in an abandoned mine near Ankerschlag in Tirol
, in the Norian
Seefelder Beds. The counterslab has been lost and with it some of the bone. The fossil consists of the skull, lower jaws, some vertebrae, parts of the limbs and pelvic girdle, and the first part of the tail.
The elongated skull has a length of eleven centimetres. It carried a bony crest that widened as it descended towards the snout, up to height of two centimetres. The triangular nares formed the largest skull openings. The also triangular fenestrae antorbitales are smaller that the orbits. The teeth differ in shape and the species was thus heterodont. Most teeth are small and tricuspid or three-pointed. In the front of the upper jaw five larger recurved teeth with a single point form a prey grab; six or seven such teeth are also interspersed with the smaller teeth more to the back of the mouth. There are at least seventeen and perhaps as much as 25 tricuspid teeth in the upper jaw, for a total of perhaps 74 teeth of all sizes in the skull. The number of teeth in the lower jaws cannot be determined.
The flexible tail did not have the stiffening rod-like vertebral extensions present in other basal pterosaurs. The wingspan has been estimated at about 120 centimetres.
Austriadactylus was in 2002 assigned by the describers to a general Pterosauria incertae sedis
, but some later analyses showed it to have been related to Campylognathoides
and Eudimorphodon
in the Campylognathoididae
. It has even been suggested it was a junior synonym of Eudimorphodon, though perhaps a distinct species in that genus.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaur
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
. The fossil remains were unearthed in Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
rocks of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
The genus was named in 2002 by Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia e.a.. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is Austriadactylus cristatus. The genus name is derived from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Austria and Greek daktylos, "finger", in reference to the wing finger of pterosaurs. The specific epithet means "crested" in Latin, a reference to the skull crest.
The genus is based on holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
SMNS 56342, a crushed partial skeleton on a slab, found in an abandoned mine near Ankerschlag in Tirol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
, in the Norian
Norian
The Norian is a division of the Triassic geological period. It has the rank of an age or stage . The Norian lasted from 216.5 ± 2.0 to 203.6 ± 1.5 million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian.-Stratigraphic definitions:The Norian was named after the Noric Alps in...
Seefelder Beds. The counterslab has been lost and with it some of the bone. The fossil consists of the skull, lower jaws, some vertebrae, parts of the limbs and pelvic girdle, and the first part of the tail.
The elongated skull has a length of eleven centimetres. It carried a bony crest that widened as it descended towards the snout, up to height of two centimetres. The triangular nares formed the largest skull openings. The also triangular fenestrae antorbitales are smaller that the orbits. The teeth differ in shape and the species was thus heterodont. Most teeth are small and tricuspid or three-pointed. In the front of the upper jaw five larger recurved teeth with a single point form a prey grab; six or seven such teeth are also interspersed with the smaller teeth more to the back of the mouth. There are at least seventeen and perhaps as much as 25 tricuspid teeth in the upper jaw, for a total of perhaps 74 teeth of all sizes in the skull. The number of teeth in the lower jaws cannot be determined.
The flexible tail did not have the stiffening rod-like vertebral extensions present in other basal pterosaurs. The wingspan has been estimated at about 120 centimetres.
Austriadactylus was in 2002 assigned by the describers to a general Pterosauria incertae sedis
Incertae sedis
, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
, but some later analyses showed it to have been related to Campylognathoides
Campylognathoides
Campylognathoides was a genus of "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaur, discovered in the Württemberg Lias deposits, the first specimen consisting of wing fragments...
and Eudimorphodon
Eudimorphodon
Eudimorphodon was a pterosaur that was discovered in 1973 by Mario Pandolfi near Bergamo, Italy and described the same year by Rocco Zambelli. The nearly complete skeleton was retrieved from shale deposited during the Late Triassic , making Eudimorphodon the oldest pterosaur then known...
in the Campylognathoididae
Campylognathoididae
Campylognathoididae is a group of early "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaurs named after Campylognathoides, that lived in the Late Jurassic. The family Campylognathoididae was named in 1967 by Oskar Kuhn, originally as the subfamily Campylognathoidinae....
. It has even been suggested it was a junior synonym of Eudimorphodon, though perhaps a distinct species in that genus.