Albadraco

Name: Albadraco ‭(‬Alba dragon‭)‬.
Phonetic: Al-bah-dray-ko.
Named By: A.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Solomon,‭ ‬V.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Codrea,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Vencel‭ & ‬G.‭ ‬Grellet-Tinner‭ ‬-‭ ‬2019.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Pterosauria,‭ ‬Pterodactyloidea,‭ ‬Azhdarchidae.
Species: A.‭ ‬tharmisensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of remains,‭ ‬but describers estimate a wingspan of‭ ‬5‭ ‬to six meters for the holotype.
Known locations: Romania‭ ‬-‭ ‬Șard Formation.
Time period: Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Tips of upper and lower jaws,‭ ‬one cervical‭ (‬neck‭) ‬vertebra,‭ ‬possibly belonging to a subadult.




       Albadraco is a genus of azdarchid pterosaur that lived in Europe during the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬At the time of the description,‭ ‬Albadraco is mainly described from the tips of the jaws which seem to have been from a subadult.‭ ‬Additionally,‭ ‬a cervical vertebra found nearby the jaws tips,‭ ‬also from an azdarchid pterosaur,‭ ‬and also from a subadult has been referred to Albadraco.‭ ‬With such a severe lack of fossils at the time of description it is hard to be certain about details about this pterosaur.‭ ‬The describers however did compare the known fossil elements of Albadraco with more complete azdarchids,‭ ‬and came to a conclusion of a‭ ‬five to‭ ‬six‭ ‬meter long wingspan for the subadult holotype individual.‭ ‬Fully grown adults were expected to attain wingspans approaching‭ ‬six meters.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new species of large-sized pterosaur from the Maastrichtian of Transylvania‭ (‬Romania‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cretaceous Research.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Solomon,‭ ‬V.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Codrea,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Vencel‭ & ‬G.‭ ‬Grellet-Tinner‭ ‬-‭ ‬2019.



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