Aralazhdarcho
Aralazhdarcho is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the Santonian to the early Campanian stages of the Late Cretaceous period of Bostobe Svita in Kazakhstan.
| Aralazhdarcho | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fragment of a left humerus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Azhdarchidae |
| Genus: | †Aralazhdarcho Averianov, 2007 |
| Species: | †A. bostobensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Aralazhdarcho bostobensis Averianov, 2007 | |
The genus was named in 2007 by Alexander Averianov. Already in 2004 the holotype had been described.[1] 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.[2] Several paratypes 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.
References
- Averianov, A.O. (2004). "New Data on Cretaceous Flying Reptiles (Pterosauria) of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan". Paleontol. Zh. (4): 73–83. (Paleontol. J. 38 (4), 426–436)
- Averianov, A.O. (2007). "New records of azhdarchids (Pterosauria, Azhdarchidae) from the late Cretaceous of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Central Asia". Paleontological Journal. 41 (2): 189–197. doi:10.1134/S0031030107020098.
