Triassic pterosaur precursors of Brazil: catalog, evolutionary context, and a new hypothesis for phylogenetic relationships of Pterosauromorpha

Abstract

Pterosaurs, remarkable for their extensive evolutionary history and role as the first vertebrates to achieve active flight, have long intrigued paleontologists and the public alike. Spanning over 150 million years and vanishing at the end of the Mesozoic Era, pterosaurs represent a major evolutionary radiation within terrestrial ecosystems. Despite their prominence, the origins of pterosaurs have remained a complex puzzle in paleontology for over 200 years. We present a comprehensive catalog of pterosaur precursors specimens from the Upper Triassic of the Candelária Sequence within the Santa Maria Supersequence in southern Brazil and discuss their significance for understanding pterosauromorph radiation and the origins of Pterosauria. Additionally, we carried out a phylogenetic analysis to investigate the hypothesis that lagerpetids are closely related to pterosaurs, incorporating new data into the most comprehensive dataset of Triassic dinosauromorphs. Our results support the hypothesis that lagerpetids are pterosauromorphs, offering new insights into the evolutionary relationships between non-pterosaur pterosauromorphs and their better known volant relatives. This study highlights the importance of detailed anatomical and phylogenetic analyses in resolving the complex origins of pterosaurs and underscores the value of the Triassic fossil record in understanding the early evolution of pterosauromorphs.