RESUMEN
An isolated pterosaurian caudal cervical (~ postcervical) vertebra was recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Lapurr sandstone of West Turkana, northwestern Kenya. The vertebral centrum is short, wide, and dorsoventrally compressed. Although the specimen is lightly built similar to most pterosaurs, it is here referred to Pterodactyloidea and tentatively to the Azhdarchidae in that it lacks pneumatic features on both the centrum and neural arch. This represents one of the few pterosaurs recovered from the entirety of Afro-Arabia, the first pterosaur recovered from the Cretaceous of East Africa, and, significantly, a specimen that was recovered from fluvial deposits rather than the near-shore marine setting typical of most pterosaur discoveries.
Asunto(s)
Vértebras Cervicales/anatomía & histología , Dinosaurios/anatomía & histología , Dinosaurios/clasificación , Fósiles , Cola (estructura animal)/anatomía & histología , Animales , Brasil , KeniaRESUMEN
An isolated pterosaurian caudal cervical (~ postcervical) vertebra was recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Lapurr sandstone ofWest Turkana, northwestern Kenya. The vertebral centrum is short, wide, and dorsoventrally compressed. Although the specimen is lightly built similar to most pterosaurs, it is here referred to Pterodactyloidea and tentatively to the Azhdarchidae in that it lacks pneumatic features on both the centrum and neural arch. This represents one of the few pterosaurs recovered from the entirety of Afro-Arabia, the first pterosaur recovered from the Cretaceous of East Africa, and, significantly, a specimen that was recovered from fluvial deposits rather than the near-shore marine setting typical of most pterosaur discoveries.
Uma vértebra cervical caudal isolada de pterossauro (~ pós-cervical) foi recuperada do Cretáceo Superior do arenito de Lapurr do Oeste de Turkana, noroeste do Quênia. O centro vertebral é curto, largo e comprimido dorsoventralmente. Embora o espécime seja leve como grande parte dos pterossauros, ele é aqui referido a Pterodactyloidea e tentativamente a Azhdarchidae no que diz respeito à ausência de características pneumáticas tanto no centro quanto no arco neural. Este representa um dos poucos pterossauros recuperados do conjunto Afro-Arábia, o primeiro pterossauro proveniente do Cretáceo do Leste da África e, significativamente, um espécime que foi recuperado de depósitos fluviais e não do cenário marinho próximo da costa típico da maioria das descobertas de pterossauros.