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A long-necked pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Valencia, Spain

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Geologie en Mijnbouw

Abstract

Fragmentary remains, including cervical vertebrae and limb bones, of a large pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Tous, province of Valencia (Spain), are described. The material was recovered from lacustrine beds in the upper part of the Calizas y Margas de Sierra Perenchiza Formation, which is probably Maastrichtian in age. Six fragments of vertebrae allow a reconstruction of the anatomy of the mid-series cervicals of the animal. The general morphology of the cervical vertebrae is closely similar to that of the long-necked Azhdarchidae. Compared to other azhdarchids, the Valencia pterosaur shows minor differences from the genera Azhdarcho and Quetzalcoatlus, and is here provisionally referred to as Azhdarchidae indet. A wingspan of about 5.5 m is calculated by comparison with other known azhdarchids. This is the second azhdarchid pterosaur described from the Iberian peninsula. It confirms the wide distribution of this group of large pterosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Colegio Universitario San Pablo C.E.U., Avenida seminario s/n, E-46113, Moncada, and

    Julio Company

  2. Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Valencia, E-46100, Burjassot, Spain

    Julio Company

  3. Universidad de Zaragoza, Area de Paleontología, E-50009, Zaragoza, Spain

    José Ignacio Ruiz-Omeñaca

  4. Laboratorio de Paleontología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Apartado 644, E-48080, Bilbao, Spain, and

    Xabier Pereda Suberbiola

  5. Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 8 rue Buffon, F-75005, Paris, France

    Xabier Pereda Suberbiola

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  1. Julio Company
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  2. José Ignacio Ruiz-Omeñaca
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  3. Xabier Pereda Suberbiola
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Company, J., Ruiz-Omeñaca, J.I. & Pereda Suberbiola, X. A long-necked pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea, Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Valencia, Spain. Geologie en Mijnbouw 78, 319–333 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003851316054

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