| Simurghia Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
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| Depiction of Simurghia by Midiaou Diallo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Genus: | †Simurghia |
| Type species | |
| †Simurghia robusta Longrich, Andres, & Martill, 2018 | |
Simurgia is an extinct genus of pteranodontian pterosaurs that lived in Morocco in the late Cretaceous period. The type and only species is named Simurgia robusta.
Discovery and naming[]
All fossils of Simurghia were excavated in a 3-year dig in the Ouled Abdoun Basin in Morocco; this same exhibition also uncovered approximately 200 other pterosaur specimens. The holotype specimen consists of only a single mostly complete humerus, though it was enough to distinguish it as its own genus along with other specimens. It was described in 2018 by paleontologists Nicholas R. Longrich, David M. Martill, and Brian Andres, along with two other pterosaurs from the same basin: Alcione and Barbaridactylus.
The genus name "Simurgia" was named after Simurgh, a flying creature from Persian mythology, while the specific name "robusta" is Latin for the word "robust".
Description[]
Simurghia is very similar in morphology to its close relative Alcione. All specimens of Alcione are either subadults or adults, based on their skeleton's dense surface, well ossified bone endings, and fused bone parts. Additionally, lack of transitionally sized humeri suggests that these animals are unique from other pterosaurs in its clade. Using isometric scaling from relatives, Simurghia would weigh nearly 5.5 times more than Alcione and is estimated to have a wingspan of approximately 16 feet (5 meters).
Classification[]
Simurghia was originally believed to be the sister taxon of Alcione and housed together under the family Nyctosauridae. But later in 2022 it was found to be the sister taxon of both Alcione and Epapatelo and they all were housed as basal members of the newly formed clade Aponyctosauria as sister taxa to the family Nyctosauridae.
Paleoecology[]
Simurghia lived in the Ouled Abdoun Basin alongside the other pterosaurs Phosphatodraco, Barbaridactylus, Alcione and Tethydraco. Some undescribed dinosaur remains include an abelisaurid and sauropod. This formation was mostly marine in biomass, with plenty of material of fishes (bony and cartilaginous alike) along with turtles, mosasaurs, and plesiosaurs.