New fossil record of a Jurassic pterosaur from Neuquen Basin, Vaca Muerta Formation, Argentina

• The new finding from Patagonia was identified as a large tibiotarsus.
• The tibiotarsus probably belonged to an osteologically mature individual.
• Characterizes a new species of a pterodactyloid pterosaur of medium size.
• Two species of pterosaurs coexisted in the marine sediments of the Upper Jurassic.
• Could represent the largest pterosaur known so far in the Tithonian in Gondwana.

Discoveries of Jurassic pterosaurs in the Southern Hemisphere are extremely unusual. In Argentina, pterosaurs from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) have only been found in the Northwest of Patagonia (Neuquén Basin). These come from marine deposits and three specimens have been discovered up to the present. In this paper, we report a new finding from the Neuquén Basin. This material is identified as a tibiotarsus, which probably belonged to an osteologically adult individual and represents a new species of a pterodactyloid pterosaur of medium size. This discovery provides new evidence that at least two different species of pterodactyloid pterosaurs may have coexisted in Los Catutos Member, Vaca Muerta Formation, from the shallow marine deposits of the Neuquén Basin.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide