PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Carlos Albuquerque
TI  - A Late Cretaceous Lonchodectid?
AID  - 10.1101/2019.12.17.879783
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2019.12.17.879783
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/12/20/2019.12.17.879783.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/12/20/2019.12.17.879783.full
AB  - A pterosaur ulnar specimen (NZMS CD 467) from the Mangahouanga Stream of New Zealand’s North Island has been first described by Wiffen et al 1988. Assumed to belong to a “Santanadactylus-like” pterosaur, this taxon has not since been extensively described, with only a few tentative claims that it represents an azhdarchid. Here, I re-examine the specimen and compare it to other pterodactyloid taxa, noting peculiar features such as its plug-like (obdurate) ulnar end. Christened Parirau ataroa, this taxon is found to be a lonchodectid, which alongside the North American Navajodactylus boerei extends this clade into the world’s youngest pterosaur faunas.