Monday, July 30, 2012

[Paleontology • 2003] Phosphatodraco mauritanicus • A new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco

Phosphatodraco mauritanicus 
Pereda-Suberbiola, Bardet, Jouve, Iarochène, Bouya & Amaghzaz 2003

Phosphatodraco (meaning "phosphate dragon", in reference to the phosphates of Morocco, the country where it was found) is a genus of azhdarchid pterodactyloid pterosaur from a late Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous portion of the Oulad (or Qualad) Abdoun Phosphatic Basin, Grand Doui, near Khouribga, central Morocco.


A comparison of Quetzalcoatlus cervical vertebrae on the left with the Phosphatodraco holotype on the right



Pereda-Suberbiola, Xabier; Bardet, N., Jouve, S., Iarochène, M., Bouya, B., and Amaghzaz, M. 2003. A new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco. In Buffetaut, E., and Mazin, J.-M. (eds.). Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society of London, Special Publications, 217. London: Geological Society of London. pp. 80–90. ISBN 1-86239-143-2.