Aralazhdarcho
Encyclopedia
Aralazhdarcho is a genus
of azhdarchid
pterosaur
from the Santonian
-early Campanian
Late Cretaceous
Bostobe Svita
of Kazakhstan
.
The genus was named in 2007 by Alexander Averianov. Already in 2004 the holotype
had been described. The type species
is Aralazhdarcho bostobensis. The genus name is derived from the Aral Sea
and the related genus Azhdarcho
. The specific name refers to the Bostobe Formation.
The genus is based on holotype ZIN PH, no. 9/43, consisting of the anterior end of a neck vertebra, probably the fifth or sixth. Several paratype
s have also been referred: a jugal, a toothless lower jaw fragment, centra from vertebrae, the distal end of a scapula, the proximal end of a second phalanx of the left wing finger and the proximal end of a left femur, of which however the head has broken off. The remains were found at the Shakh-Shakh locality.
Aralazhdarcho was by Averianov assigned to the Azhdarchidae
, in view of its lack of teeth and geological age. Averianov presumed it presented a more southern form as opposed to the contemporary related genus Bogolubovia
that was found in adjoining more northern regions.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of azhdarchid
Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebrae apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the early Cretaceous as well...
pterosaur
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
from the Santonian
Santonian
The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 85.8 ± 0.7 mya and 83.5 ± 0.7 mya...
-early Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
Bostobe Svita
Bostobe Svita
The Bostobe Svita is a geological formation in Kazakhastan whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.-Vertebrate paleofauna:* Alectrosaurus sp....
of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
.
The genus was named in 2007 by Alexander Averianov. Already in 2004 the holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
had been described. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is Aralazhdarcho bostobensis. The genus name is derived from the Aral Sea
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
and the related genus Azhdarcho
Azhdarcho
Azhdarcho is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of the Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan. It is known from fragmentary remains including the distinctive, elongated neck vertebrae that characterizes members of the family Azhdarchidae, which also includes such giant...
. The specific name refers to the Bostobe Formation.
The genus is based on holotype ZIN PH, no. 9/43, consisting of the anterior end of a neck vertebra, probably the fifth or sixth. Several paratype
Paratype
Paratype is a technical term used in the scientific naming of species and other taxa of organisms. The exact meaning of the term paratype when it is used in zoology is not the same as the meaning when it is used in botany...
s have also been referred: a jugal, a toothless lower jaw fragment, centra from vertebrae, the distal end of a scapula, the proximal end of a second phalanx of the left wing finger and the proximal end of a left femur, of which however the head has broken off. The remains were found at the Shakh-Shakh locality.
Aralazhdarcho was by Averianov assigned to the Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae
Azhdarchidae is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Period, though an isolated vertebrae apparently from an azhdarchid is known from the early Cretaceous as well...
, in view of its lack of teeth and geological age. Averianov presumed it presented a more southern form as opposed to the contemporary related genus Bogolubovia
Bogolubovia
Bogolubovia is a genus of pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Rybushka Formation of Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast, Russia. It is named for Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov, the palaeontologist who discovered the remains in 1914. It has in 1991 been assigned to the Azhdarchidae. Wellnhofer however,...
that was found in adjoining more northern regions.