Austriadactylus? cristatus? SC 332466 (Dalla Vecchia 2009) Norian, Late Triassic, ~205 mya. Much smaller than the holotype of Austridactylus, the Italian specimen was derived from a sister to the Austrian specimen and phylogenetically preceded Preondactylus.
Distinct from the Austrian specimen, the skull of SC 332466 had a greatly reduced crest. The skull elements were all much more gracile and the various openings were all that much larger, especially the naris. Some elements, like the lacrimal, were reduced to slender struts. The tip of the rostrum turned down to match the downturned tip of the dentary. The teeth were all smaller.
The cervicals were smaller and somewhat more elongated. What Dalla Vecchia (2009) considered a distal femur and a proximal tibia (the knee) are actually sacral ribs. The caudals appear to have been extremely gracile in keeping with the rest of the skeleton, but that may be an illusion because the caudals are almost completely buried.l
The sternal complex was reduced to a triangle. The scapula and coracoid were not fused together and they were misidentified originally. The humerus was shorter and thicker, more like that of all other pterosaurs. What Dalla Vecchia (2009) considered an overly elongated scapula is actually the scapula and the femur aligned.
The hind limb was much shorter, more like that in other pterosaurs. Metatarsal IV was not longer than III. The hind limbs and feet are largely buried. Only impressions in the matrix identify them. See below. |
