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| Galgadraco zephyrius Giaretta, Navarro, Marinho & Pêgas, 2025 Artwork by Matheus Gadelha. |
Abstract
The vertebrate fossil record of the Bauru Group (Upper Cretaceous, southeastern Brazil) is remarkably rich, with a predominance of titanosaurs and crocodyliforms, alongside theropods, turtles, squamates, fishes and even small mammals. In contrast, pterosaur remains from the Bauru Group have remained elusive until now. Here, we describe a fragmentary jaw from the upper Maastrichtian Serra da Galga Formation, representing the first confirmed pterosaur discovery from the Bauru Group. The specimen was collected in the Serra da Galga Geosite and is interpreted as a rostrum (upper jaw tip), showing diagnostic features that support its identification as a new azhdarchid species: Galgadraco zephyrius gen. et sp. nov. This new taxon represents the first Brazilian azhdarchid and bears striking similarities to the coeval Albadraco tharmisensis from the Haţeg Basin, Romania. Phylogenetic analysis recovered Galgadraco as a sister taxon to Albadraco, both deeply nested within the clade Quetzalcoatlida. Additional indeterminate pterosaur fragments were also recovered from the same level of the fossil site and include another jaw fragment, a diminutive (?hatchling) lower jaw with azhdarchid affinities, a distal metacarpal IV, and ungual fragments. This highlights a previously unrecognized archosaurian diversity, with important implications for the palaeoecology of the Serra da Galga Formation.
Keywords: Azhdarchoidea, systematics, Paraná Basin, Bauru Supersequence, Serra da Galga Formation, Maastrichtian
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| Holotype of Galgadraco zephyrius gen. et sp. nov. (CPPLIP 1853). Rostrum fragment in: A, right lateral; B, left lateral; C, palatal; D, dorsal; E, anterior; F, posterior view. G–J, schematic drawings of A–D highlighting the slit-like foramina, the medial longitudinal groove, and broken parts (pattern). K, hypothetical reconstruction of a generalized Hatzegopteryx-like skull, showing the approximate anatomical position of the preserved fragment. Abbreviations: nf, neurovascular foramen; pg, palatal groove; snnf, supernumerary neurovascular foramen. Scale bar represents: 10 mm (A–J); 50 mm (K). |
SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY
PTEROSAURIA Owen 1842
PTERODACTYLOIDEA Plieninger 1901
AZHDARCHOIDEA Unwin 1995 (sensu Kellner 2003)
AZHDARCHIDAE Padian 1986 (sensu Pêgas et al. 2025)
Genus Galgadraco nov.
Derivation of name: From Galga, referring to the Serra da Galga Formation and the Galga Hill, and draco, Latin for ‘dragon’, a common suffix used to designate pterosaurs.
Type species: Galgadraco zephyrius sp. nov.
Galgadraco zephyrius sp. nov.
Derivation of name: From Zéphuros (Ζέφυρος), the personification of the west wind in Ancient Greek mythology.
Holotype: CPPLIP 1853, a tridimensional partial rostrum (upper jaw close to tip) fragment (Fig. 3).
Type locality: Serra da Galga Geosite, a roadcut located at kilometre 153 of the BR-050 highway, c. 25 km north of Uberaba city (19°35′32.8″S 48°01′42″W).
Horizon & age: Serra da Galga Formation, Bauru Group, late Maastrichtian.
Diagnosis: The new species can be diagnosed based on the following combination of features (autapomorphy marked with an asterisk): edentulous rostrum (upper jaw) tip with lateral divergence of c. 7°; dorsoventral divergence of c. 15°; ventrolateral divergence of c. 18°; roughly triangular cross-section; slit-like occlusal foramina larger than lateral foramina; occlusal foramina mostly organized in a symmetrical pair of rows; relatively dense occlusal foramina (jaw tip foramination index of c. 0.40); low and rounded tomial edges; and a shallow median palatal groove*.
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| Life reconstruction of a pair of Galgadraco zephyrius gen. et sp. nov. in a late Maastrichtian environment, showcasing the palaeobiota of the Serra da Galga Geosite. Artwork by Matheus Gadelha. |
Ariovaldo A. Giaretta, Bruno A. Navarro, Thiago S. Marinho and R. Vargas Pêgas. 2025. The First Pterosaur from the Bauru Group: An Azhdarchid from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil. Papers in Palaeontology. DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70039 [23 September 2025]
