A LARGE PTERODACTYLOIDPTEROSAUR FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS (LATE MAASTRICHTIAN) OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 1 decade ago

Abstract: An incomplete right ulna of a large pterodactyloid pterosaur is described from the Late Cretaceous Miria Formation (Late Maastrichtian), Giralia Range, Western Australia. The bone represents the first pterosaur known from Western Australia, and the largest and geologically youngest pterosaur from Australia, and the youngest Mesozoic terrestrial tetrapod yet found in Australia. Comparisons with other pterosaurs give estimates of wingspan for the Western Australian pterosaur at between 3.6 (cL Santanadactylus) to 4.9 metres (cf. Pteranodon). The presence of a ridge dividing the medial condyle on the proximal face of the ulna suggests that the bone belongs to an azhdarchid; if so this is the first record of the family Azhdarchidae in Australia.