Aussiedraco
Name:
Aussiedraco
(Australian Dragon).
Phonetic: Oz-zee-dray-ko.
Named By: Alexander W.A. Kellner, Taissa
Rodrigues and Fabiana R. Costa - 2011.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Ornithocheiroidea.
Species: A. molnari (type).
Diet: Piscivore.
Size: Uncertain because of incomplete skull material.
Known locations: Australia, Queensland -
Toolebuc Formation.
Time period: Albian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial mandibular symphysis
(front of the lower jaw).
Unfortunately
not only are pterosaur
fossils rare in Australia they are usually very
fragmentary; such is the case for Aussiedraco.
The type specimen
had been known for over thirty years before it was granted the name
Aussiedraco and represents the front piece of the
lower jaw. The jaw
itself was thin like you would expect in a pterosaur, something that
would decrease water resistance as the jaw was swept through the
water. In cross section the jaw has a triangular shape that would
have strengthened it against forces pushing down on the upper surface,
such as the pressure of the water resistance as the lower jaw entered
and moved through the water. Both of these are important features as
pterosaurs like Aussiedraco are thought to have
caught prey while still
flying.
The
lower jaw had a minimum of five pairs of teeth with the teeth nearer
the front angled to point forwards away from the mouth rather than up
into the maxilla of the upper jaw. This characteristic is commonly
seen in the ornitocheirid group of pterosaurs which were piscivorous
fish eaters, and serves to increase the chance of prey capture as
Aussiedraco skimmed its beak through the water.
Further reading
- Short note on a pteranodontoid pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from
western Queensland, Australia. - Anais da Academia Brasileira de
Ci�ncias. 83 (1): 301–308. - Alexander W.A Kellner, Taissa Rodrigues
& Fabiana R. Costa - 2011.
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