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[[File:220px-Phosphatodraco.jpg|thumb|220x220px]] |
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| − | ''Phosphatodraco, ''meaning "phosphate dragon"'' ''was a Late Cretaceous azhdarchid that lived in what is now Morocco. It was moderately sized with an estimated wingspan of 5 m. It has quite poor fossil representation with only five neck vertebrae and an unknown bone applied to it. |
+ | '''''Phosphatodraco''', ''meaning "phosphate dragon"'' ''was a Late Cretaceous azhdarchid that lived in what is now Morocco. It was moderately sized with an estimated wingspan of 5 m. It has quite poor fossil representation with only five neck vertebrae and an unknown bone applied to it. |
Despite this, ''Phosphatodraco'' sticks out from other azhdarchids for two reasons. Firstly, this pterosaur was found in Africa, which is a hard place to find pterosaurs in general due to the high possibility of wind erosion. Second, it had quite a long neck even for an azhdarchid, which already had long necks. If the guess of azhdarchids hunting like storks is correct, then this adaptation furthered its ability to snatch small creatures without much movement. |
Despite this, ''Phosphatodraco'' sticks out from other azhdarchids for two reasons. Firstly, this pterosaur was found in Africa, which is a hard place to find pterosaurs in general due to the high possibility of wind erosion. Second, it had quite a long neck even for an azhdarchid, which already had long necks. If the guess of azhdarchids hunting like storks is correct, then this adaptation furthered its ability to snatch small creatures without much movement. |
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Revision as of 16:26, 26 March 2019
Phosphatodraco, meaning "phosphate dragon" was a Late Cretaceous azhdarchid that lived in what is now Morocco. It was moderately sized with an estimated wingspan of 5 m. It has quite poor fossil representation with only five neck vertebrae and an unknown bone applied to it.
Despite this, Phosphatodraco sticks out from other azhdarchids for two reasons. Firstly, this pterosaur was found in Africa, which is a hard place to find pterosaurs in general due to the high possibility of wind erosion. Second, it had quite a long neck even for an azhdarchid, which already had long necks. If the guess of azhdarchids hunting like storks is correct, then this adaptation furthered its ability to snatch small creatures without much movement.
Paleoelcology
Phosphatodraco, as its name suggests, was found in a phosphate mine, and the only creature to be found in this mine, so no one really knows what species lived alongside it. However, it is probable that this species was a descendant of the much larger Alanqa, which also lived in what is now Morocco earlier in the Cretaceous. It went extinct with the rest of the pterosaurs in the KT extinction.