Mistralazhdarcho is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of France. The type and only species is Mistralazhdarcho maggii.
Discovery and Naming[]
The holotype (MMS/VBN.09.C.001) was discovered in a sandstone layer of the Aix-en-Provence basin, dating from the late Campanian. In 2018, It was named and described by Romain Vullo, Géraldine Garcia, Pascal Godefroit, Aude Cincotta and Xavier Valentin. The generic name combines the mistral and Azhdarcho, while the specific name is named after Jean-Pierre Maggi, the mayor of Velaux.
Description[]
It consists of a partial skeleton with a skull. It contains the lower jaws, the complex of the front neck, a neck vertebra, the left humerus, a fragmented right humerus, the radius, the pteroid, the shaft of the fourth metacarpal, the proximal part of the first phalanx of the wing finger, the distal part of the same phalanx, and four bone fragments that could not be identified including some articular surface and two shafts. It is a large pterosaur, with the wingspan measuring about 424 centimeters. (13.91 ft) However, it is not fully grown, so an adult individual could measure up to 5-6 centimeters.
Classification[]
Mistralazhdarcho was placed in the Azhdarchidae in 2018.
Gallery[]
