Maaradactylus
| Maaradactylus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Specimen MPSC R 2357, from the Araripe Basin, Brazil | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Anhangueridae |
| Subfamily: | †Anhanguerinae |
| Genus: | †Maaradactylus Bantim et al., 2014 |
| Type species | |
| †Maaradactylus kellneri Bantim et al., 2014
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Maaradactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous period (Aptian to Albian stages) of the Romualdo Formation of northeastern Brazil.
Discovery
Maaradactylus is based on the Museu Paleontologico de Santana do Cariri specimen MPSC R 2357, a skull, atlas, and axis discovered in 2010 in the Aptian—Albian-age Romualdo Formation of Sítio São Gonçalo, Santana do Cariri, Ceará, in the Araripe Basin of Brazil.
Maaradactylus was described by Renan Bantim and colleagues in 2014. The type species is Maaradactylus kellneri. The generic name refers to Maara, in the legends of the Cariri the daughter of a chief, by sorcery changed into a river monster with long teeth, devouring fishermen. The suffix ~dactylus is common in the names of pterosaurs and is derived from Greek δάκτυλος, daktylos, "finger", referring to the long (fourth) wing finger. The specific name honors Alexander Kellner, Brazil's foremost pterosaur expert.[1]
In 2019, the species Coloborhynchus spielbergi, also assigned as Anhanguera spielbergi, was reassigned to Maaradactylus by Megan L. Jacobs and colleagues as M. spielbergi.[2] This species was named after the filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the director of Jurassic Park by André J. Veldmeijer.[3] Later studies would retain it in the genus Anhanguera, though it has been noted the taxonomy of Araripe Basin anhanguerids requires further study.[4][5][6]
Description
Maaradactylus had one of the largest anhanguerid skulls from the Santana Group, and this indicated a wingspan estimate of about 6 meters (20 ft). This anhanguerid also has a relatively tall crest running along the midline of the premaxillary bones, which make up most of the upper beak region, and placements for 35 pairs of teeth in the upper jaws.[1]
Classification
In 2020 a study by Borja Holgado and Rubi Pêgas had recovered Maaradactylus as the sister taxon of Cearadactylus, both belonging to the subfamily Anhanguerinae. Their cladogram is shown on the right.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b Renan A. M. Bantim; Antônio A. F. Saraiva; Gustavo R. Oliveira; Juliana M. Sayão (2014). "A new toothed pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Anhangueridae) from the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation, NE Brazil". Zootaxa. 3869 (3): 201–223. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3869.3.1. PMID 25283914.
- ^ Jacobs, M.L.; Martill, D.M.; Ibrahim, N.; Longrich, N. (2019). "A new species of Coloborhynchus (Pterosauria, Ornithocheiridae) from the mid-Cretaceous of North Africa" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 95: 77–88. Bibcode:2019CrRes..95...77J. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.10.018. S2CID 134439172.
- ^ Veldmeijer, A.J. (2003). "Description of Coloborhynchus spielbergi sp. nov.(Pterodactyloidea) from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil". Scripta Geologica. 125 (35): e139.
- ^ Duque, Rudah Ruano C.; Pinheiro, Felipe L.; Barreto, Alcina Magnólia Franca (2022-10-11). "The ontogenetic growth of Anhangueridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) premaxillary crests as revealed by a crestless Anhanguera specimen". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (1) e2116984. Bibcode:2022JVPal..42E6984D. doi:10.1080/02724634.2022.2116984. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 252864314.
- ^ Piazentin, Lucas C.; Navarro, Bruno A.; Pêgas, R.V.; Carvalho, Alberto B.; Zaher, Hussam (October 2025). "A new pterosaur mandible from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil, and its implications on the taxonomy of the genus Anhanguera (Pterosauria, Anhangueridae)". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 165 105684. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2025.105684.
- ^ Pinheiro, F. L.; Kellner, A. W. A.; Silva, J. L.; Duque, R. R. C.; Sayão, J. M.; Araújo, E. V.; Costa, F. R.; Buchmann, R.; Cerqueira, G. M.; Canejo, L.; Beccari, V.; Bantim, R. A. M.; Holgado, B.; Pêgas, R. V. (2025). "Cretaceous Pterosaurs of the Araripe Basin: A Comprehensive Taxonomic Update and Paleobiological Insights". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 97 (Suppl. 1) e20250622. doi:10.1590/0001-3765202520250622 (inactive 18 November 2025).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2025 (link) - ^ Holgado, B.; Pêgas, R.V. (2020). "A taxonomic and phylogenetic review of the anhanguerid pterosaur group Coloborhynchinae and the new clade Tropeognathinae". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65. doi:10.4202/app.00751.2020. hdl:2072/444907.
