| Torukjara Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Barremian–Albian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype Skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Tapejaridae |
| Subfamily: | †Tapejarinae |
| Genus: | †Torukjara Pêgas, 2024 |
| Species: | †T. bandeirae |
| Binomial name | |
| †Torukjara bandeirae Pêgas, 2024 | |
Torukjara is an extinct genus of tapejarid pterosaurs from Early Cretaceous of Caiuá Group of Brazil. The type and only known species is T. bandeirae. Fossils of Torukjara was originally assigned to Caiuajara, but the presence of several diagnostic anatomical differences indicate that both animals are different.
Description[]
The largest specimens of Torukjara bandeirae is similar in size with the largest known specimens of Caiuajara dobruskii.
Discovery and naming[]
The fossil materials of Torukjara were discovered in the locality Pterosaur Graveyard which likely belongs to the Rio Paraná Formation of Caiuá Group of Cruzeiro do Oeste, Paraná State, Brazil. The holotype (CP.V 8175), discovered in 2014, consists of a partial skeleton as well as a well-preserved skull.[1] The specimen was assigned to Caiuajara in 2022.[2]
In 2024, Rodrigo V. Pêgas described the holotype as a new genus and species of tapejarid Torukjara bandeirae based on the known fossil remains. The name, Torukjara, references the fictional "Toruk" from the Avatar movie franchise of which the animal bears a similarity to; the second part "jara", meaning "lord", is a suffix often used for tapejarid genera. The species name, bandeirae, is in the honor of the Brazilian palaeontologist, Kamila Bandeira.[1]
Classification[]
The phylogenetic analysis presented by Pêgas (2024) classifies Torukjara as pterosaur in the family Tapejaridae and the subfamily Tapejarinae, and as the sister taxon to Caiuajara. He also described a new clade Caiuajarina which contains Torukjara and Caiuajara.
Gallery[]
Reference[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (2024-06-10) "A taxonomic note on the tapejarid pterosaurs from the Pterosaur Graveyard site (Caiuá Group, ?Early Cretaceous of Southern Brazil): evidence for the presence of two species" (in en). Historical Biology: 1–22. DOI:10.1080/08912963.2024.2355664. ISSN 0891-2963.
- ↑ (2022) "Novel information on the cranial anatomy of the tapejarine pterosaur Caiuajara dobruskii". PLOS One 17 (12). DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0277780. PMID 36520711.