Gwawinapterus
Encyclopedia
Gwawinapterus is a genus
of istiodactylid
pterosaur
from the Late Cretaceous
of North America
.
In May 2005 amateur paleontologist Sharon Hubbard found a rock with bones and teeth visible on the surface on a beach near Collishaw Point at Hornby Island
, British Columbia
, Canada
. Accompanying her was Graham Beard, the director of the Vancouver Island Paleontological Museum at Qualicum Beach, who added the fossil to its collection. Beard brought the find to the attention of paleontologist Philip J. Currie. He in turn obtained the help of colleague Victoria M. Arbour who established it belonged to a pterosaur new to science.
In 2011
Arbour and Currie named it as the type species
Gwawinapterus beardi. The generic name is derived from Gwa’wina, meaning "raven
" in Kwak'wala
, the language of the Kwakwaka'wakw
, in reference to the similarity of the pterosaur with the stylised raven heads of the hamatsa
masks of that tribe, and a Latinised Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name honours Beard.
The rock was sawn in two for better study and its halves, with inventory numbers VIPM 1513a and VIPM 1513b, represent the holotype
. It probably originated in marine layers of the Northumberland Formation dating to the late Campanian
stage, from about seventy million years ago.
The rock, a calcite nodule, has a length of about 20 centimetres (7.9 in). It holds the snout of a pterosaur, the first pterosaur cranial material found in Canada. Some of the surface of the bone is visible; partly it has been preserved as a cross-section or as an imprint. Erupted tooth crowns have disappeared but tooth sockets are still present and due to breakage tooth roots and replacement teeth are visible.
The tip of the snout is rounded and deep with a height of about 9.5 centimetres (3.7 in). The tip is about 6.5 centimetres (2.6 in) from the anterior edge of the large skull opening, the fenestra nasoantorbitalis. Below this opening the upper jaw is about 21 millimetre (0.826771653543307 in) tall. The jaw is probably a sutureless fusion of the premaxilla
and maxilla
. Each upper jaw holds at least 26 teeth, eleven or twelve of them below the fenestra; the front of the tooth row has not been preserved and the fossil is broken at its end. The teeth are closely packed. The tooth crowns are small, 4 millimetre (0.15748031496063 in) tall and 2.75 millimetre (0.108267716535433 in) wide, flattened, and triangular with slightly curved edges. The edges are not serrated, lacking denticles, and rounded. The teeth are very straight, showing no axial curvature to either the back or the middle. The more narrow single tooth roots are relatively long, about 10 to 12 mm (0.393700787401575 to 0.47244094488189 in), for a total tooth length of about 14 millimetre (0.551181102362205 in). By comparison with the skull of Istiodactylus
sinensis, the wingspan
of Gwawinapterus has been estimated at three metres.
The describers have identified two unique derived
features (autapomorphies): a number of more than 25 teeth in the upper jaw and a tooth root more than twice as long as the crown.
Gwawinapterus was assigned to the Istiodactylidae
, using the method of comparative anatomy
. It is, by a measure of forty million years, the youngest known istiodactylid and the only known toothed pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous; the species shows that pterosaur variation had declined less than previously presumed.
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 istiodactylid
Istiodactylidae
Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus Istiodactylus was discovered not to be a member of the genus Ornithodesmus....
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...
from the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
In May 2005 amateur paleontologist Sharon Hubbard found a rock with bones and teeth visible on the surface on a beach near Collishaw Point at Hornby Island
Hornby Island
Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is a Northern Gulf Island parallel with Vancouver Island's Comox Valley.A small community of 1,074 residents is distributed across the island. The island is culturally distinctive as it was the site of a large immigration of American draft dodgers during...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Accompanying her was Graham Beard, the director of the Vancouver Island Paleontological Museum at Qualicum Beach, who added the fossil to its collection. Beard brought the find to the attention of paleontologist Philip J. Currie. He in turn obtained the help of colleague Victoria M. Arbour who established it belonged to a pterosaur new to science.
In 2011
2011 in paleontology
-Lobopods:-Arachnids:-Insects:-Newly named jawless vertebrates:-Newly named acanthodian:-Newly named cartilaginous fishes:-Newly named bony fishes:-Newly named lepospondyls:-Newly named temnospondyls:-Newly named lissamphibians:...
Arbour and Currie named it as 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...
Gwawinapterus beardi. The generic name is derived from Gwa’wina, meaning "raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
" in Kwak'wala
Kwak'wala
Kwak'wala is the Indigenous language spoken by the Kwakwaka'wakw. It belongs to the Wakashan language family. There are about 250 Kwak'wala speakers today, which amounts to 5% of the Kwakwaka'wakw population...
, the language of the Kwakwaka'wakw
Kwakwaka'wakw
The Kwakwaka'wakw are an Indigenous group of First Nations peoples, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining mainland and islands.Kwakwaka'wakw translates as "Those who speak Kwak'wala", describing the collective nations within the area that...
, in reference to the similarity of the pterosaur with the stylised raven heads of the hamatsa
Hamatsa
Hamatsa is the name of a Kwakwaka'wakw secret society. During the winter months the Kwakwaka'wakw of British Columbia have many ceremonies practiced by different secret societies...
masks of that tribe, and a Latinised Greek pteron, "wing". The specific name honours Beard.
The rock was sawn in two for better study and its halves, with inventory numbers VIPM 1513a and VIPM 1513b, represent the 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...
. It probably originated in marine layers of the Northumberland Formation dating to the late Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
stage, from about seventy million years ago.
The rock, a calcite nodule, has a length of about 20 centimetres (7.9 in). It holds the snout of a pterosaur, the first pterosaur cranial material found in Canada. Some of the surface of the bone is visible; partly it has been preserved as a cross-section or as an imprint. Erupted tooth crowns have disappeared but tooth sockets are still present and due to breakage tooth roots and replacement teeth are visible.
The tip of the snout is rounded and deep with a height of about 9.5 centimetres (3.7 in). The tip is about 6.5 centimetres (2.6 in) from the anterior edge of the large skull opening, the fenestra nasoantorbitalis. Below this opening the upper jaw is about 21 millimetre (0.826771653543307 in) tall. The jaw is probably a sutureless fusion of the premaxilla
Premaxilla
The incisive bone is the portion of the maxilla adjacent to the incisors. It is a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the jaws of many animals, usually bearing teeth, but not always. They are connected to the maxilla and the nasals....
and maxilla
Maxilla
The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...
. Each upper jaw holds at least 26 teeth, eleven or twelve of them below the fenestra; the front of the tooth row has not been preserved and the fossil is broken at its end. The teeth are closely packed. The tooth crowns are small, 4 millimetre (0.15748031496063 in) tall and 2.75 millimetre (0.108267716535433 in) wide, flattened, and triangular with slightly curved edges. The edges are not serrated, lacking denticles, and rounded. The teeth are very straight, showing no axial curvature to either the back or the middle. The more narrow single tooth roots are relatively long, about 10 to 12 mm (0.393700787401575 to 0.47244094488189 in), for a total tooth length of about 14 millimetre (0.551181102362205 in). By comparison with the skull of Istiodactylus
Istiodactylus
Istiodactylus was a medium sized pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous period.-History and species:In 1887 Harry Govier Seeley named the remains of a fossil pelvis discovered on the Isle of Wight, Ornithodesmus cluniculus, thinking it was a bird. In 1901 he considered that it might have been a...
sinensis, the wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
of Gwawinapterus has been estimated at three metres.
The describers have identified two unique derived
Derived
In phylogenetics, a derived trait is a trait that is present in an organism, but was absent in the last common ancestor of the group being considered. This may also refer to structures that are not present in an organism, but were present in its ancestors, i.e. traits that have undergone secondary...
features (autapomorphies): a number of more than 25 teeth in the upper jaw and a tooth root more than twice as long as the crown.
Gwawinapterus was assigned to the Istiodactylidae
Istiodactylidae
Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus Istiodactylus was discovered not to be a member of the genus Ornithodesmus....
, using the method of comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...
. It is, by a measure of forty million years, the youngest known istiodactylid and the only known toothed pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous; the species shows that pterosaur variation had declined less than previously presumed.