A Medium-Sized Robust-Necked Azhdarchid Pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchidae) from the Maastrichtian of Pui (Haţeg Basin, Transylvania, Romania)

Vremir, Mátyás; Witton, Mark P.; Naish, Darren; Dyke, Gareth J.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Norell, Mark A.; Totoianu, Radu.

doi:10.1206/3827.1

Cited by 22 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Representing one of the smallest known pterosaurs from Campanian–Maastrichtian strata, it adds to a growing set of evidence that latest Cretaceous pterosaur faunas were not dominated by large or giant species, and that smaller pterosaurs may have been well represented in this interim (e.g. [72,101]). As with other evidence of smaller pterosaurs from the latest Cretaceous, RBCM.EH.2009.019.0001 is fragmentary and poorly preserved: researchers should check collections more carefully for misidentified or ignored pterosaur material which may enhance our picture of pterosaur diversity and disparity at this time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A small azhdarchoid pterosaur from the latest Cretaceous, the age of flying giants

et al. 2016

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Pterosaur fossils from the Campanian–Maastrichtian of North America have been reported from the continental interior, but few have been described from the west coast. The first pterosaur from the Campanian Northumberland Formation (Nanaimo Group) of Hornby Island, British Columbia, is represented here by a humerus, dorsal vertebrae (including three fused notarial vertebrae), and other fragments. The elements have features typical of Azhdarchoidea, an identification consistent with dominance of this group in the latest Cretaceous. The new material is significant for its size and ontogenetic stage: the humerus and vertebrae indicate a wingspan of ca 1.5 m, but histological sections and bone fusions indicate the individual was approaching maturity at time of death. Pterosaurs of this size are exceedingly rare in Upper Cretaceous strata, a phenomenon commonly attributed to smaller pterosaurs becoming extinct in the Late Cretaceous as part of a reduction in pterosaur diversity and disparity. The absence of small juveniles of large species—which must have existed—in the fossil record is evidence of a preservational bias against small pterosaurs in the Late Cretaceous, and caution should be applied to any interpretation of latest Cretaceous pterosaur diversity and success.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A small azhdarchoid pterosaur from the latest Cretaceous, the age of flying giants

et al. 2016

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“…only. This referral of EME 315 to Hatzegopteryx is supported by the lack of firm evidence for a second giant azhdarchid in Romania, as well as the fact that, while multiple azhdarchid taxa are known to have been contemporaneous in several Late Cretaceous faunas (Vremir et al, 2013; Vremir et al, 2015), we have yet to discover evidence that more than one giant taxon inhabited a given fauna.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, recent discoveries of two proportionally short, isolated azhdarchid cervical vertebrae from the Maastrichtian Sebeş Formation (Transylvanian Basin) of western Romania have prompted suggestions that some azhdarchids may have been proportionally short necked (Vremir, 2010; Vremir et al, 2015). The first of these specimens, LPV (FGGUB) R.2395, was interpreted as a cervical IV from a small azhdarchid with an estimated 3 m wingspan (Vremir et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neck biomechanics indicate that giant Transylvanian azhdarchid pterosaurs were short-necked arch predators

Naish

Witton

2017

PeerJ

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Azhdarchid pterosaurs include the largest animals to ever take to the skies with some species exceeding 10 metres in wingspan and 220 kg in mass. Associated skeletons show that azhdarchids were long-necked, long-jawed predators that combined a wing planform suited for soaring with limb adaptations indicative of quadrupedal terrestrial foraging. The postcranial proportions of the group have been regarded as uniform overall, irrespective of their overall size, notwithstanding suggestions that minor variation may have been present. Here, we discuss a recently discovered giant azhdarchid neck vertebra referable to Hatzegopteryx from the Maastrichtian Sebeş Formation of the Transylvanian Basin, Romania, which shows how some azhdarchids departed markedly from conventional views on their proportions. This vertebra, which we consider a cervical VII, is 240 mm long as preserved and almost as wide. Among azhdarchid cervicals, it is remarkable for the thickness of its cortex (4–6 mm along its ventral wall) and robust proportions. By comparing its dimensions to other giant azhdarchid cervicals and to the more completely known necks of smaller taxa, we argue that Hatzegopteryx had a proportionally short, stocky neck highly resistant to torsion and compression. This specimen is one of several hinting at greater disparity within Azhdarchidae than previously considered, but is the first to demonstrate such proportional differences within giant taxa. On the assumption that other aspects of Hatzegopteryx functional anatomy were similar to those of other azhdarchids, and with reference to the absence of large terrestrial predators in the Maastrichtian of Transylvania, we suggest that this pterosaur played a dominant predatory role among the unusual palaeofauna of ancient Haţeg.

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“…Thus far, some of the more important results of our collaboration have been the initial report (Csiki et al, 2010a) and monographic description (Brusatte et al, 2013a) of Balaur bondoc, an aberrant double-sickle-clawed dromaeosaurid that was discovered by Mátyás Vremir in 2009; studies on the origin of the unusual Romanian dwarfed dinosaur faunas (Vremir et al, 2014) and their relevance for understanding the end-Cretaceous extinction (Csiki-Sava et al, 2016); and descriptions of new infant dinosaur (Brusatte et al, 2013b) and midsized pterosaur (Vremir et al, 2015) material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Catalog ofZalmoxes(Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) Specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad Locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania

Brusatte

Dumbravă

Vremir³

et al. 2017

American Museum Novitates

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The Transylvanian area of Romania boasts a rich fossil record of dinosaurs, which lived on an island (Haţeg Island) during the very end of the Cretaceous. Many of these are dwarfed in body size or exhibit other unusual features thought to be linked to their insular habitat. One of the most common of these dinosaurs is the rhabdodontid ornithopod Zalmoxes, an herbivorous taxon that has been found at many Upper Cretaceous sites across Transylvania. Our collaborative fieldwork has uncovered several new Zalmoxes specimens from the Nălaț-Vad (= Vadu) locality, a site along the Râul Mare River in the Haţeg Basin that dates to the "middle" to late Maastrichtian. These include a partial associated skeleton, along with various isolated bones from several additional individuals. We catalog and describe these specimens here, and compare them to other Zalmoxes fossils from Romania. They provide further evidence that Zalmoxes was one of the most common vertebrates in the latest Cretaceous of Transylvania, and add to the unusual fossil record of Nălaț-Vad, which has yielded a much greater number of associated skeletons than other Transylvanian localities. Some of the Nălaț-Vad specimens possess features characteristic of the type species, Z. robustus, whereas

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A Medium-Sized Robust-Necked Azhdarchid Pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchidae) from the Maastrichtian of Pui (Haţeg Basin, Transylvania, Romania)

Cited by 22 publications

References 26 publications

A small azhdarchoid pterosaur from the latest Cretaceous, the age of flying giants

A small azhdarchoid pterosaur from the latest Cretaceous, the age of flying giants

Neck biomechanics indicate that giant Transylvanian azhdarchid pterosaurs were short-necked arch predators

A Catalog ofZalmoxes(Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) Specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad Locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania

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