Short note on a Pteranodontoid pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from western Queensland, Australia

Alexander W.A Kellner,Taissa Rodrigues,Fabiana R Costa

doi:10.1590/s0001-37652011000100018

Abstract

Flying reptiles from Australia are very rare, represented mostly by isolated bones coming from the Early Cretaceous (Albian) Toolebuc Formation, which crops out in western Queensland. Among the first pterosaur specimens discovered from this deposit is a mandibular symphysis that some authors thought to have a particular affinity to species found in the Cambridge Greensand (Cenomanian) of England. It was further referred as a member of or closely related to one of the genera Ornithocheirus, Lonchodectes or Anhanguera. Here we redescribe this specimen, showing that it cannot be referred to the aforementioned genera, but represents a new species of Pteranodontoid (sensu Kellner 2003), here named Aussiedraco molnari gen. et sp. nov. It is the second named pterosaur from Australia and confirms that the Toolebuc deposits are so far the most important for our understanding of the flying reptile fauna of this country.

Highlights

To date, pterosaur findings in Australia are quite rare, being recovered in only a few deposits (Kear et al 2010, Kellner et al 2010; Fig. 1)
The first report on flying reptiles from this unit was made by Molnar and Thulborn (1980) who described three specimens, all housed in the Queensland Museum (QM): a mandibular symphysis (QM F10613), an incomplete vertebra (QM F10614), and a left scapulocoracoid (QM F10612)
The potential for more complete pterosaur findings is present in the Toolebuc Formation, for over three decades since the first discovery (Molnar and Thulborn 1980) only fragmentary and isolated remains have been found (Kellner et al 2010, Fletcher and Salisbury 2010), similar to what has been observed in other deposits such as the Tendaguru layers (e.g., Costa and Kellner 2009) and the Kem Kem beds of Morocco (e.g., Wellnhofer and Buffetaut 1999)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Pterosaur findings in Australia are quite rare, being recovered in only a few deposits (Kear et al 2010, Kellner et al 2010; Fig. 1). Holotype: Partial mandibular symphysis housed at the Queensland Museum (QM F10613), Brisbane, Australia; cast at the Museu Nacional (MN 4721-V), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. PTEROSAUR FROM QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA with an asterisk): dorsal margin of mandibular symphysis markedly convex*, ventral margin of the symphysis straight*, distal end of the symphysis not expanded laterally, mandibular symphysis slightly deeper than wide, deep but narrow dorsal sagittal groove that does not reach the tip of the mandibular symphysis, alveoli sub-equal in size. The dental margins are quite straight between the fourth and fifth alveoli and become slightly to strongly scalloped between the third and the fourth alveoli and the third and the second ones, respectively This arrangement could allow an interlocking of the upper and lower teeth (Molnar and Thulborn 2007) mainly at the tip of the symphysis. The spacing between the first and the second alveoli is smaller compared to the other well-spaced ones, with the fourth and fifth alveoli being more separated from each other

DISCUSSION

CONCLUDING REMARKS