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A pterosaurian notarium from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil

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Kurzfassung

Aus der San tana-Formation (Apt) der Chapada do Araripe in Nordost-Brasilien wird ein zusammenhängendes Stück einer Pterosaurier-Wirbelsäule beschrieben und vorläufig alsSantanadacty-lus brasilensis de Buisonjé bestimmt. Es besteht aus dem letzten Cervicalwirbel, den fünf ersten, zu einem Notarium verwachsenen Dorsalwirbeln und den folgenden vier freien Dorsalwirbeln. Es handelt sich um das besterhaltene Flugsaurier-Notarium, das bisher bekannt ist. Die funktionelle Bedeutung des Pterosauri-er-Notariums wird diskutiert.

Abstract

A pterosaur vertebral column consisting of the last cervical vertebra, the first five dorsals fused to a notarium, and the following four dorsal vertebrae, is figured and described from the Aptian Santana Formation of the Chapada do Araripe in northeastern Brazil. The specimen is tentatively referred toSantanadactylus brasilensis de Buisonjé. It is the best preserved and most complete pterosaurian notarium known. Its functional significance is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und historische Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 8000, München 2

    Peter Wellnhofer

  2. Université Paris VI, Laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés et de Paléontologie Humaine, 4, place Jussieu, F-75230, Paris Cedex 05

    Eric Buffetaut

  3. Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde “Prins Leopold“, Nationalestraat 155, -2000, Antwerpen

    Paul Gigase

Authors
  1. Peter Wellnhofer
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  2. Eric Buffetaut
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  3. Paul Gigase
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Wellnhofer, P., Buffetaut, E. & Gigase, P. A pterosaurian notarium from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. Paläont. Z. 57, 147–157 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03031757

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03031757

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