Dawndraco
Name: Dawndraco
(Dawn dragon).
Phonetic: Dawn-dray-co.
Named By: Alexander Kellner - 2010.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Pteranodontidae).
Species: D. kanzai (type).
Type: Piscivore.
Size: Uncertain, but probably comparable to
Pteranodon
in size.
Known locations: USA, Kansas - Niobrara
Formation, Smokey Hill Chalk Member.
Time period: Coniacian to Santonian of the
Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skull and
partial post cranial remains.
When
Alexander Kellner found what was thought to be a Pteranodon,
he
realised that morphological differences in the specimen meant that it
was not a match. Kellner then compared it to the next closest
pterosaur
and in the process made the exciting discovery that it was
not an individual of this genus either and he had in fact identified a
new genus of pterosaur.
The
key difference between Dawndraco and Pteranodon
is that the snout of
Dawndraco does not taper to a point like it does in Pteranodon.
Other
than this Dawndraco had very similar body
morphology and would likely
have lived in a very similar manner to Pteranodon.
Further reading
- Comments on the Pteranodontidae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea) with
a description of two new species. - Anais da Academia Brasileira de
Ci�ncias 82(4):1063-1084. - A. W. A. Kellner - 2010.
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