Preondactylus
Encyclopedia
Preondactylus is a genus
of long-tailed pterosaur
from the Late Triassic
that inhabited what is now Italy
. It was discovered by Nando Buffarini in 1982 near Udine
in the Preone valley of the Italian Alps
.
teeth, meaning they had one point on each tooth. Its diet either consisted of fish
, insect
s or both, but there is still debate going on as the tooth structure could indicate either diet (or both). It had short wings, whose total span was only 45 cm (18 in), and relatively long legs. The short wings were a "primitive" feature for pterosaurs, but Preondactylus was a fully developed flier.
containing the fossil was accidentally broken into pieces while being extracted. After reassembly the rock was cleaned with water by him and his wife and the marl
and in it the bone was washed away and lost. All that was left was a negative imprint on the stone, of which a silicon rubber cast was made to allow for subsequent study of the otherwise lost remains. Most of the skeleton is known, but the posterior portions of the skull have not been preserved. This first specimen is the holotype
: MFSN-1891.
A second, disarticulated specimen, MFSN-1770, was found at the same locale in 1984 about 150-200 meters deeper into the strata than the original find. The second specimen appears to have been preserved in the gastric pellet of a predatory fish, which had consumed the pterosaur and vomited up the indigestible pieces that would later fossilize. More detailed knowledge of the variability of Triassic pterosaurs has made the identification of this specimen as Preondactylus uncertain.
A third specimen is MFSN 25161, a partial skull, lacking the lower jaws.
, the specific name honours Buffarini. Rupert classified the new species within Rhamphorhynchidae
, of which group very old species are known such as Dorygnathus
, but soon it was understood the form was much more basal. A cladistic analysis by David Unwin found Preondactylus as the most basal pterosaur, and the species was accordingly used by him for a node clade definition of the clade
Pterosauria. Other analyses however, have found a somewhat more derived position for Preondactylus.
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 long-tailed 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 Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
that inhabited what is now Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was discovered by Nando Buffarini in 1982 near Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
in the Preone valley of the Italian Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.
Anatomy
Preondactylus had single cuspCusp (dentistry)
A cusp is an occlusal or incisal eminence on a tooth.Canine teeth, otherwise known as cuspids, each possess a single cusp, while premolars, otherwise known as bicuspids, possess two each. Molars normally possess either four or five cusps...
teeth, meaning they had one point on each tooth. Its diet either consisted of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s or both, but there is still debate going on as the tooth structure could indicate either diet (or both). It had short wings, whose total span was only 45 cm (18 in), and relatively long legs. The short wings were a "primitive" feature for pterosaurs, but Preondactylus was a fully developed flier.
Discovery
When Buffarini first discovered Preondactylus, the thin slab of bituminous, dolomitic limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
containing the fossil was accidentally broken into pieces while being extracted. After reassembly the rock was cleaned with water by him and his wife and the marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
and in it the bone was washed away and lost. All that was left was a negative imprint on the stone, of which a silicon rubber cast was made to allow for subsequent study of the otherwise lost remains. Most of the skeleton is known, but the posterior portions of the skull have not been preserved. This first specimen is 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...
: MFSN-1891.
A second, disarticulated specimen, MFSN-1770, was found at the same locale in 1984 about 150-200 meters deeper into the strata than the original find. The second specimen appears to have been preserved in the gastric pellet of a predatory fish, which had consumed the pterosaur and vomited up the indigestible pieces that would later fossilize. More detailed knowledge of the variability of Triassic pterosaurs has made the identification of this specimen as Preondactylus uncertain.
A third specimen is MFSN 25161, a partial skull, lacking the lower jaws.
Phylogeny
The species was described and named by Rupert Wild in 1984. The genus name refers to PreonePreone
Preone is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 110 km northwest of Trieste and about 45 km northwest of Udine. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 292 and an area of 22.4 km².Preone borders the following...
, the specific name honours Buffarini. Rupert classified the new species within Rhamphorhynchidae
Rhamphorhynchidae
Rhamphorhynchidae is a group of early "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaurs named after Rhamphorhynchus, that lived in the Late Jurassic. The family Rhamphorhynchidae was named in 1870 by Harry Govier Seeley.-Classification:...
, of which group very old species are known such as Dorygnathus
Dorygnathus
Dorygnathus was a genus of pterosaur that lived in Europe during the Early Jurassic period, 180 million years ago when shallow seas flooded much of the continent. It had a short 1.5 meter wingspan, and a relatively small triangular sternum, which is where its flight muscles attached. Its skull...
, but soon it was understood the form was much more basal. A cladistic analysis by David Unwin found Preondactylus as the most basal pterosaur, and the species was accordingly used by him for a node clade definition of the clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
Pterosauria. Other analyses however, have found a somewhat more derived position for Preondactylus.
Literature
- Wild, R., 1984, "A new pterosaur (Reptilia, Pterosauria) from the Upper Triassic (Norien) of Friuli, Italy", Gortiana — Atti Museo Friuliano di Storia Naturale, 5, 45-62
- Dalla Vecchia, F.M., Muscio, G., Wild, R., 1989, "Pterosaur remains in a gastric pellet from the Upper Triassic (Norian) of Rio Seazza Valley (Udine, Italy)", Gortiana — Atti Museo Friuliano di Storia Naturale, 10 (1988), 121-132
- Dalla Vecchia F.M., 1998, "New observations on the osteology and taxonomic status of Preondactylus buffarinii Wild, 1984 (Reptilia, Pterosauria)", Boll. Soc. Paleont. It., 36(3, 1997): 355-366
- Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia, 2003, "A Review of the Triassic Pterosaur Record", Riv. Mus. Civ. Sc. Nat. “E. Caffi” Bergamo, 22 (2003), pp. 13–29