A new azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Lebanon

Abstract

A new pterosaur, Microtuban altivolans gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Sannine Formation of northern Lebanon. The specimen is the first pterosaur from the Early Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) locality of Hjoûla and is regarded as the most complete pterosaur fossil discovered from Africa. While postcranial characters indicate a possible relationship with members of the Thalassodromidae or Chaoyangopteridae, the specimen possesses an exceptionally short wing-finger phalanx 4, forming only 1.1% of the total length of the wing-finger. Its appearance along with an unnamed ornithocheiroid from the slightly younger locality of Hâqel suggests that a number of pterosaur taxa existed within the local area, perhaps living on exposed carbonate platforms. © 2011 Swiss Geological Society.