A new study was released this week offering a view into the Late Cretaceous Era and the diversity and distribution of the toothless "dragon" pterosaurs from the Azhdarchidae family.
Research was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
The Azhdarchidan pterosaurs get their name from the Persian word for dragon, which is Azdarha, according to a Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences press release.
The rather successful group of pterosaurs comprised of some of the largest known flying animals of all time, with a wingspan reaching around 10 and 12 m.
"Dragon" pterosaurs had worldwide distribution once and were the last of their kind to survive on the plant. They dominated the skies during the Late Cretaceus, despite being toothless.
"This shift in dominance from toothed to toothless pterodactyloids apparently reflects some fundamental changes in Cretaceous ecosystems, which we still poorly understand," comments the author of the study Dr. Alexander Averianov, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, according to the release.
Fossil record of pterosaurs is confined mostly to sedimentary deposits known as Konservat-Lagerstätten where "exceptional depositional conditions facilitated preservation of fragile pterosaur bones," according to the release.
The creatures are hard to study mainly since such Lagerstätten are very rare for the Late Cretaceous when most of the evolutionary history of Azhdarchidae occurred.
"Azhdarchidae currently represent a real nightmare for paleontologists: most taxa are known from few fragmentary bones, which often do not overlap between named taxa, the few articulated skeletons are poorly preserved, and some of the best available material has remained undescribed for forty years." said Dr. Averianov about the difficulties studying the group, according to the release.
Despite these issues, the number of localities were azhdarchidan pterosaurs were found is impressive and reflects the important role they played in the Cretaceous ecosystems.
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