Two bone fragments of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs from the Cenomanian of Volgograd Region, southern Russia
Alexander O. Averianov, Evgeny N. Kurochkin, Evgeny M. Pervushov, and Alexei V. Ivanov
Two pterosaur bone fragments, a distal humerus and a distal femur, from the upper Cenomanian of the Volgograd Region in the Don River basin of southern Russia are reported. Although fragmentary, these bones come from mature individuals and are exceptionally well and three-dimensionally preserved, allowing a detailed description of their anatomy. Both specimens can be referred to middle-sized ornithocheiroid pterosaur with a reconstructed wingspan of about 4 m. The humerus shows affinities with Istiodactylus from the Barremian of England, whereas the femur fragment is not identifiable beyond Ornithocheiroidea indet.
Key words: Pterosauria, Ornithocheiroidea, Cretaceous, Cenomanian, Russia.
Alexander O. Averianov [sasha@AA1923.spb.edu], Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia; Evgeny N. Kurochkin [enkur@paleo.ru], Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsouznaya ul. 123, 117868 Moscow GSP−7, Russia; Evgeny M. Pervushov [pervusch@san.ru], Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya ul. 83, 410026 Saratov, Russia; Alexei V. Ivanov [niig@sgu.ssu.runnet.ru], Scientific Research Institute of Geology, Saratov State University, Bol’shaya Kazach’ya ul. 120, 410012 Saratov, Russia.
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