Microtuban (meaning little Thuban or little basilisk) is an extinct genus of Azhdarchoid pterosaur that lived in Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. The type species is Microtuban altivolans.
Discovery and Naming[]
The holotype (SMNK PAL 6595) was discovered in the locality of Hjoula in the layer of Sannine Formation. Then, it was acquired from a local fossil dealer by the State Museum of of Natural History Karlsruhe. The fossil dealer, however, claimed that it came from Haqel. It was named by Ross A. Elgin and Eberhard Frey in 2011. The generic name combines Mikros and Arabic ثعبان (pronounced tuban), meaning basilisk or the ancient polar star Thuban, while the specific name combines Latin words altus and volare.
Description[]
It is the second pterosaur that was found in Lebanon, after Mimodactylus, and it is a rare example of a pterosaur from Africa and Middle East. The specimen consists of the last cervical and first dorsal vertebrae, a shoulder girdle, the left wing and fragments of the hindlimbs. The specimen is immature, so it could have been larger when fully grown. Many bones are broken and articulated, as it can be explained by a collision or a bite from another predator. The second phalanx of the wing finger is long, and the fourth phalanx is reduced.
Classification[]
It is classified as a member of Azhdarchoidea, but Nicholas Longrich and others in 2018 placed it as a basal member of Chaoyangopteridae.
Gallery[]
