Puntanipterus
Name:
Puntanipterus
(Puntanos wing).
Phonetic: Pun-tan-ip-teh-rus.
Named By: Jos� Bonaparte & Teresa S�nchez
- 1975.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea. Further classification is uncertain
although most researchers have assigned Puntanipterus to
Dsungaripteroidea.
Species: P. globosus (type).
Type: Possibly a shellfish eater.
Size: Estimated 2.5 - 3 meter wingspan.
Known locations: Argentina - La Cruz Formation.
Time period: Albian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of hind
limbs, dorsal vertebra and foot and wing phalanx (the hand).
The
future for Puntanipterus is uncertain and the
reason for this goes back
to its early discovery. When described, Puntanipterus
was noted as
being similar to the filter feeding pterosaur Pterodaustro
save for
differences in the ankles and tibia. What must be remembered however
is that pterosaur fossils, including those of Pterodaustro
are almost
always crushed in the fossilisation process because the bones are so
lightly built. This causes distortions in the bone structures and can
lead to two specimens of the same species looking like they belong to
two different species, depending upon the amount of distortion
between the specimens.
Further
remains thought to belong to Puntanipterus were
found in a strata
amongst fragmentary Pterodaustro remains during
the 1990s. Because
the fragments were smaller, they were not as distorted as larger
Pterodaustro bones, but most importantly they look
identical to the
bones of Puntanipterus. If they are confirmed to
be identical then
Puntanipterus will cease to be an independent genus
and become a
synonym of Pterodaustro.
Further reading
- Restos de un pterosaurio, Puntanipterus globosus de la Formaci�n La
Cruz, Provincia de San Luis, Argentina [Remains of a pterosaur,
Puntanipterus globosus from the La Cruz Formation, San Luis Province,
Argentina]. - Actas del Primer Congreso Argentino de Paleontologia y
Bioestratigrafia, Tucum�n 2:105-113. - J. F. Bonaparte & T. M.
S�nchez - 1975.
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