Herbstosaurus

• Argentina ( Vaca Muerta Formation)

• Herbstosaurus pigmaeus

Herbstosaurus is a genus of short-tailed pterosaurs ( Pterodactyloidea ) from the Upper Jurassic ( Tithonian ) of South America. So far, a single copy is known only that consists mainly of bones and bone impressions of the pelvic region and the upper leg bone. Originally this genus was described as theropod dinosaurs. Herbstosaurus may represent the earliest known representatives of Pterodactyloidea in the southern hemisphere dar.

Features

The femur of the specimen found measures 9.15 inches in length; the wingspan of this specimen probably be about 1.5 meters. The sacrum consists of 5 to 6 vertebrae, a feature that usually occurs in representatives of Pterodactyloidea, at basal ( primitive ) pterodactyls, but is very unusual.

System

The phylogenetic relationships are controversial. Ostrom (1978 ) recognized for the first time the membership of the pterodactyls. While Bonaparte (1978 ) introduced this genus in the Pterodactylidae, saw Peter Wellhofer (1991 ) in her a more basal pterosaurs outside the Pterodactyloidea. Unwin (2003) wrote Herbstosaurus the Dsungaripteroidea to a group within the Pterodactyloidea what of Codorniú and Gasparini (2007 ), however, refuted.

Discovery

The only known specimen ( holotype, specimen number CTES PZ - 1709) comes from the Vaca Muerta Formation ( Tithonian ) of the Argentine province of Neuquén. Originally, the locality of the Middle Jurassic Lotena lineup has been assigned. An identified along with this pterosaur index fossil, the Ammonite Berriasiella, however, proves that the Fund actually comes from the younger Vaca Muerta formation.