| Mesadactylus Temporal range: Kimmeridgian–Tithonian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Josh Cotton's illustration of Mesadactylus ornithosphyos | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryote |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Family: | †Anurognathidae |
| Genus: | †Mesadactylus Jensen & Padian, 1989 |
| Species: | †M. ornithosphyos |
| Type species | |
| †Mesadactylus ornithosphyos Jensen & Padian, 1989 | |
Mesadactylus is a genus of anurognathid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of Colorado, United States. The type and only species as of yet is Mesadactylus ornithosphyos.
Description[]
Mesadactylus holotype BYU 2024 consists of only a synsacrum, which S. Christopher Bennett stated was different from other Pterodactyloid synsacrum.[1] The synsacrum of the holotype consists of seven sacral vertebrae fused to create a supraneural blade, which led Jensen to initially assign the specimen to Palaeopteryx due to the bird-like synsacrum, and this was the distinguishing feature of the holotype.[2] So far, the size and wingspan of Mesadactylus is unknown.
Discovery and Naming[]
The Mesadactylus holotype was discovered in the Dry Mesa Quarry of the Morrison Formation. The holotype consists of a synsacrum, which were officially described on May of 1989 by James A. Jensen and Kevin Padian.[2] The generic name means "Mesa finger", after the location in which the pterosaur was found. The specific name "ornithosphyos" refers to the unique complete fusion in the synsacrum that is unique to only birds.
Classification[]
In the initial description, Mesadactylus was classified by Jensen and Padian as a member of Pterodactyloidea.[2] Mesadactylus was later suggested to be a possible synonym of Kepodactylus, although still with some minor distinguishable traits.[3]
Other fossil material had been referred to M. ornithosphyos in the original paper, as well as in 2004 and 2006.[2][4][3] However in 2007 it was deemed by S. Christopher Bennett that only the synsacrum belongs to Mesadactylus, and that only the referred material were that of pterodactyloid affinities.[1] Bennett also classified Mesadactylus as an anurognathid.
Paleoecology[]
Illustration of some Morrison Formation fauna, by Brian Engh.
Mesadactylus was found in the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, which dates from the Kimmeridgian to the Tithonian, during the Late Jurassic.[5] The anurognathid would have lived alongside many species of dinosaurs as well as other prehistoric creatures, including other pterosaurs.
Diablophis was a stem-snake that lived in the Brushy Basin Member, as well as the small crocodylomorph Hallopus, which may have preyed on the small pterosaur.[6][7] Ornithischian dinosaurs from the Brushy Basin Member include the thyreophorans Mymoorapelta and Stegosaurus stenops.[8][9] M. ornithosphyos also coexisted with a number of saurischian dinosaurs, such as the sauropod Brontosaurus,[10] and large carnivorous theropods including Allosaurus,[11] and Torvosaurus.[12]
In popular culture[]
- Mesadactylus appeared in the Walking with Dinosaurs book, The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4524687
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/small-pterosaurs-and-dinosaurs-from-the-uncompahgre-fauna-brushy-basin-member-morrison-formation-tithonian-late-jurassic-western-colorado/35EB106586503E26AB86979CFEF456A2#access-block
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.academia.edu/228975/NEW_PTEROSAUR_SPECIMENS_FROM_THE_MORRISON_FORMATION_AND_A_SUMMARY_OF_THE_LATE_JURASSIC_PTEROSAUR_RECORD_OF_THE_ROCKY_MOUNTAIN_REGION
- ↑ https://doc.rero.ch/record/15198/files/PAL_E2474.pdf
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrison_Formation
- ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms6996
- ↑ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.1970.0028
- ↑ Tremaine, K., D'Emic, M., Williams, S., Hunt-Foster, R.K., Foster, J., and Mathews, J., (2015), Paleoecological implications of a new specimen of the ankylosaur Mymoorapelta maysi from the Hanksville-Burpee Quarry, latest Jurassic (Tithonian) Morrison Formation (Brushy Basin Member) [abs.]: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Program and Abstracts, p. 226.
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenneth-Carpenter-2/publication/284097770_Armor_of_Stegosaurus_stenops_and_the_taphonomic_history_of_a_new_specimen_from_Garden_Park_Colorado/links/58c6ec07aca272bcc1ed03bc/Armor-of-Stegosaurus-stenops-and-the-taphonomic-history-of-a-new-specimen-from-Garden-Park-Colorado.pdf
- ↑ https://ajsonline.org/article/63643
- ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2003.10010538
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234025996_Dinosaur_Distribution