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| Torukjara bandeirae Pêgas, 2024 Artwork by Matheus F. Gadelha |
ABSTRACT
The Caiuá Group (Cretaceous of Southern Brazil) is famous for the Pterosaur Graveyard site, a location that has yielded hundreds of tapejarid specimens, among other taxa. Previous works had already presented various specimens of Pterosaur Graveyard (PG) tapejarids, reporting on several cranial elements showing substantial anatomical variations. These variations have been interpreted as intraspecific in nature, with all tapejarid specimens having been attributed to a single species, Caiuajara dobruskii. The present contribution reassesses the morphological diversity found in PG tapejarid specimens. Evidence is provided for the interpretation of several variations as interspecific in nature, particularly regarding rostral, palatal, occipital, and third cervical morphology. The present data indicate a segregation of the PG tapejarid specimens between two consistent morphotypes, which are interpreted here as two distinct, coexisting species: Caiuajara dobruskii and Torukjara bandeirae gen. et sp. nov.
KEYWORDS: Pterosauria, Tapejaridae, taxonomy, osteology, morphological variation, Caiuá Group
Rodrigo V. Pêgas. 2024. A Taxonomic Note on the tapejarid Pterosaurs from the Pterosaur Graveyard Site (Caiuá Group, ?Early Cretaceous of Southern Brazil): Evidence for the Presence of Two Species. Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2024.2355664
