Unwindia

• Brazil, Ceará ( Santana Formation)

• Unwindia trigonus

Unwindia is a genus of short-tailed pterosaurs ( Pterodactyloidea ) from the Lower Cretaceous of South America. So far, a fragmentary snout with teeth it is only known that originates from the Santana Formation of Brazil and can probably be dated to the late Albian. The only way is Unwindia trigonus.

Features

The snout was relatively long, slender and triangular in cross section. From other pterodactyls Unwindia be distinguished by the smaller number of teeth in the upper jaw and premaxillary bone ( premaxilla ). Thus, these bones total of only seven pairs of teeth. The teeth were in their form quite homogeneous, and thus stand in contrast to the strong Heterodontie as they can be observed at all other pterosaurs of the Santana Formation. The teeth were on the front portion of the jaw (before Nasoantorbitalfenster ) and were limited to a very great distance from each other.

System

Unwindia is classified within the group Ctenochasmatoidea; However, its precise phylogenetic relationships within this group are unclear. Possibly this species was most closely related to Yixianopterus and Cycnorhamphus.

Fund, history of discovery and naming

The only known Fund ( holotype, specimen number SMNK PAL 6597 ) consists of the paired premaxillary bone, the maxilla, as well as parts of the palate. Four teeth are preserved. The fossil, the researchers acquired by a fossil collector, who discovered it in the region of Santana do Cariri. It dates from the Romualdo Member of the Santana Formation. Today it is in the collection of the State Museum of Natural History in Karlsruhe.

The name Unwindia honors the paleontologist David Unwin, while the second part of the species name, trigonus, has the triangular cross -section of the snout.