Siroccopteryx

Siroccopteryx
Temporal range: 105 Ma
↓

Lower Cretaceous

Possible Siroccopteryx tooth.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Pterosauria
Suborder: Pterodactyloidea
Family: Anhangueridae
Genus: Siroccopteryx
Mader & Kellner, 1999
Species
Synonyms

Coloborhynchus moroccensis (Mader & Kellner, 1999)

Siroccopteryx is an extinct genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur, a member of the family Anhangueridae, who lived at the middle of the Cretaceous (between the Albian and Cenomanian stages, about 105 million years ago). Remains have been discovered in Morocco. It might be a synonym of Coloborhynchus.

Description

The genus was named and described in 1999 by Bryn Mader and Alexander Kellner, and it means "wing of the Sirocco", referring to the warm wind that originates in the North Africa and then goes through the Mediterranean, along with the Greek word pteryx, which translates as "wings". The designation of the type species, S. moroccensis refers to Morocco, since that it is the first pterosaur described in this country.[1][2]

This pterosaur is known only from the front part of the jaw with teeth. The holotype fossil, LINHM 016 (Long Island Natural History Museum), was found near Ksar es Souk, in the province of Errachidia in the region of Meknes-Tafilalet at 30.4 ° N, 4.9 ° longitude (17.6 ° N, 4.2 ° W longitude) in Beg'aa, west of Hamada du Guiren in southeastern Morocco, in a layer of red sandstone, a fine-grained alluvium from the Albian-Cenomanian.[3] It consists of front teeth and a snout that not compressed. The muzzle was long and narrow, with a large elongated terminal part, with a sort of shaped crest anterior keel highest that of Anhanguera but not as high as that of Coloborhynchus or Tropeognathus. The teeth were sharp but short and more robust than in Anhanguera. The bone is rough and leathery, with strange marks of wrinkles and depressions, this may be a consequence of the conditions of preservation, but the descriptors suggest that indicate a disease, possibly caused by dental abscesses.[1] According to André Veldmeijer, is probably that this damage was post-mortem and indicate the presence of a horn cover in the ridge.

The wingspan of this large pterosaur should be four to five meters. It is likely that this animal was a specialized glider, and ventured into the sea off the coast of Africa, to capture fishes and other prey that swim near the surface.

Phylogeny

The descriptors of Siroccopteryx placed this genus in the family Anhangueridae, sensu Kellner. David Unwin, however, indicated in 2001 that it was a species of Coloborhynchus, then he called it as C. moroccensis and being a member of the Ornithocheiridae.[4][5] This has been controversial. In the same year, Michael Festnacht suggested it was more similar to Anhanguera due to the wide end of the snout. In 2009, Kellner considered that Siroccopteryx, Coloborhynchus clavirostris and Uktenadactylus probably formed together a clade within Anhangueridae.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Mader, BJ & Kellner, Alexander W. A. (1999). "A new pterosaur from the Cretaceous of Morocco". Boletim do Museu Nacional, Nova série, Geologia 45: 1–11.
  2. ↑ Nizar Ibrahim, David M. Unwin, David M. Martill, Lahssen Baidder, Samir Zouhri (2010). "A new pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco". PLoS ONE 5: e10875. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010875. PMC 2877115. PMID 20520782.
  3. ↑ Mader, B. J. and Alexander W. A. Kellner (1997). "First occurrence of Anhangueridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) in Africa". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17 (Suppl. 3): 62A. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10011028.
  4. ↑ Unwin, David M. (2001). "An overview of the pterosaur assemblage from the Cambridge Greensand (Cretaceous) of eastern England". Fossil Record 4: 189–221. doi:10.1002/mmng.20010040112.
  5. ↑ Frey, Eberhard; Martill, David M.; Buchy, Marie-Céline (2003). "A new crested ornithocheirid from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil and the unusual death of an unusual pterosaur". In Eric Buffetaut and Mazin Jean-Michel. Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. London: The Geological Society. pp. 55–63. ISBN 1-86239-143-2.
  6. ↑ Rodrigues, Taissa & Alexander W. A. Kellner (2009). "Review of the pterosaur pterodactyloid Coloborhynchus". Zitteliana B 28: 219–228.
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