Lower Cretaceous Period

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Cearadactylus atrox

 

Cearadactylus (Ceara finger)

This pterosaur is known from a single skull of about 57cm in length from the Santana Formation, north eastern Brazil.  The jaw is articulated and uncrushed, showing the position in life.  The systematic relationship of this species is unclear and several attempts to clarify this have produced conflicting analyses.

Holotype: F-PV-93 ; Extensive partial skull and mandible

Referred Specimens: GIUA M. 4895;  Pair of associated cervical vertebrae.

 

Leonardi, G. & Borgomanero, G. 1985, Cearadactylus atrox nov. gen., nov. sp.: novo Pterosauria (Pterodactyloidea) da Chapada do Araripe, Ceara, Brasil. Resumos dos communicaçoes VIII Congresso bras. de Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 1983, 27, 75–80.

Unwin, D. M. 2002, On the systematic relationships of Cearadactylus atrox, an enigmatic Early Cretaceous pterosaur from the Santana Formation of Brazil. Mitteilungen Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Geowissenschaftlichen Reihe, 5, 239-263.