[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]

[dinosaur] Apatorhamphus, new pterosaur from Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of Morocco




Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com

A new paper:

Apatorhamphus gyrostega gen. et sp. nov.



James McPhee, Nizar Ibrahim, Alex Kao, David M. Unwin, Roy Smith, David M. Martill (2020)
A new ?chaoyangopterid (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from the Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of Southern Morocco.
Cretaceous Research Article 104410 (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104410
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566711930374X


A new genus and species of edentulous pterodactyloid pterosaur with a distinctive partial rostrum from the mid-Cretaceous (?Albian/Cenomanian) Kem Kem beds of southeast Morocco is described. The taxon is assigned to Chaoyangopteridae based upon its edentulous jaws, elongate rostrum and slightly concave dorsal outline. The rostral cross-section is rounded dorsally and concave on the occlusal surface. The lateral margins are gently convex dorsally becoming slightly wider toward the occlusal border, and a row of small lateral foramina parallel to the dorsal margin determines it as a taxon distinct from other chaoyangopterids. Apatorhamphus gyrostega is a pterosaur of medium to large size (wingspan likely somewhere between ~3 m and ~7 m). This new species brings the number of named Kem Kem azhdarchoids to three, and the number of named Kem Kem pterosaurs to five, indicating a high pterosaur diversity for the Kem Kem beds.