Preondactyl [1] ( lat. Preondactylus ) is a genus of basal pterosaurs [2] that lived in the Upper Triassic ( 215.6–205.6 million years ago [3] ) in the territory of modern Italy . It includes the only known species Preondactylus buffarini found by Nando Buffarini in 1982 near the town of Udine , in the Preonian valley of the Italian Alps [4] .
| † Preondactyl |
Skeleton reconstruction |
| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Infraclass : | Archosauromorphs |
| No rank : | Archosauriformes |
| Treasure : | † Pterosauromorphs |
|
| International scientific name |
|---|
Preondactylus Wild, 1984 |
| Single view |
|---|
† Preondactylus buffarinii Wild, 1984 |
Geochronology215.6–205.6 Ma | million years | Period | Era | Aeon |
|---|
| 2,588 | Even | | | Ka | F
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n
e
R
about
s
about
th | | 23.03 | Neogene | | 66.0 | Paleogen | | 145.5 | a piece of chalk | M
e
s
about
s
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th | | 199.6 | Yura | | 251 | Triassic | | 299 | Permian | P
but
l
e
about
s
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th | | 359.2 | Carbon | | 416 | Devonian | | 443.7 | Silur | | 488.3 | Ordovician | | 542 | Cambrian | | 4570 | Precambrian |
◄ Nowadays◄ Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction◄ Triassic extinction◄ Mass Permian Extinction◄ Devonian extinction◄ Ordovician-Silurian extinction◄ Cambrian explosion |
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Preondactyl had short wings with a wingspan of only 45 cm and relatively long legs. Despite the fact that short wings are a sign of "primitive" pterosaurs, preondactyl seems to have been a good flyer. His teeth were conical in shape, with one tip [4] . His diet consisted of fish or insects, or maybe both. However, there is still debate over whether the shape of the teeth can indicate the type of food.
The first remains of preondactyl were discovered by Buffarini on a thin calcareous tile. During extraction, the tile was accidentally broken into pieces. After assembly, the paleontologist and his wife washed the rock with water, as a result of which the marl and the bone contained in it were washed away and lost. From the lost bone there was only an imprint in the stone, which was flooded with liquid rubber to prevent further loss of the remains. Most of the skeleton is known, but the occipital part of the skull was not preserved [4] . This sample is a holotype , MFSN-1770. The second, dissected specimen, MSFN-1891, was found in the same area in 1984, 150-200 meters deeper than the first find. The second sample is believed to be the uprooted contents of the stomach of a predatory fish, which ate a pterosaur and burp undigested remains that subsequently petrified [4] . A more detailed study of the variability of Triassic pterosaurs made the accession of this sample to the genus Preondactylus doubtful. The third sample, MFSN 25161, is part of the skull without the lower jaw.
Weed described and named Rupert Wilde in 1984. The generic name is a reference to the name of the Italian commune Preone , a specific name is given in honor of Buffarini. Wilde attributed the preondactyl to the Rhamphorhynchidae family, the oldest representative of which was Dorygnathus , but he soon realized that this form was much more basic. David Anvin's cladistic analysis found the preondactyl to be the most basal pterosaur, and the species was appropriately used by him to determine the node of the Pterosauria clade.
A 2014 study by Andres, Clark, and Sin showed that the sister genus of preondactyl is austriadactyl , and both of them, together with the Eudimorphodontidae family, belong to the clade of primitive pterosaurs Eopterosauria [2] .
