Montanazhdraco is an extinct genus of azhdarchid pterosaur that lived in Late Cretaceous period of Montana, US. the type species is Montanazhdraco minor.
Discovery and Naming[]
The holotype (MOR 691) was found by Robert W. Harmon in Glacier County in the territory of Blackfoot confederacy. The genus then was given the name informally by Kevin Padian, Armand de Ricqles, and Jack Horner. It was named formally in 1995 by the same researchers. It was fully described in 2002. The generic name combines "Montana" and "Azhdarco", relating to its name and family relation, while the specific name is minor which points to its small size.
Description[]
It was a small pterosaur, reaching 2.5m (8.2ft) in a wingspan. It consists of a fragmented left wing while lacking the outer three wing phalanges, a should girdle, a fragmented cervical vertebra and fragments of mandible. Much like other azhdarchids, it's jaws lack teeth.
Classification[]
The people who described it assigned to the family Azhdarchidae. However, In 2015, a study assigned it as an azhdarchoid, but in 2018 Nicholas Longrich and his collegues recovered it as azhdarchid again.
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