Gwawinapterus

Name: Gwawinapterus (Gwa'wina wing).
Phonetic: Gwa-we-na-op-teh-rus.
Named By: Philip J. Currie & Victoria M. Arbour - 2011.
Classification: Chordata, Teleostomi, Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii, Ichthyodectiformes, Saurodontidae.
Species: G. beardi (type).
Type: Piscivore?
Size: Unavailable.
Known locations: Canada, British Columbia, Hornby Island, Collishaw Point.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Specimen in a rock that had to be cut open.

       Gwawinapterus was originally named as a new genus of pterosaur in‭ ‬2011,‭ ‬however doubts were soon raised about the genus.‭ ‬Firstly a‭ ‬2012‭ ‬study‭ (‬Witton‭) ‬noted a highly unusual form of tooth replacement unknown in pterosaurs.‭ ‬Then another‭ ‬2012‭ ‬study‭ (‬Vullo,‭ ‬Buffetaut‭ & ‬Everhart‭) ‬came to the conclusion that the Gwawinapterus‭ ‬holotype fossil‭ ‬was not actually from a pterosaur,‭ ‬but of a‭ ‬fish.

Further reading
- An istiodactylid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Nanaimo Group, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada. - Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 48:63-69. - V. M. Arbour & P. J. Currie - 2011.
- New Insights into the Skull of Istiodactylus latidens (Ornithocheiroidea, Pterodactyloidea). - PLoS ONE, 7(3). - M. P. Witton - 2012.
- Reappraisal of Gwawinapterus beardi from the Late Cretaceous of Canada: a saurodontid fish, not a pterosaur. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 32(5): 1198-1201 - R. Vullo, E. Buffetaut & M. J. Everhart - 2012.

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