Pterosaurs from the latest Early and early Middle Jurassic of Argentina and the origin of the Pterodactyloidea

• Applicant: Professor Oliver Rauhut, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 450830809

The archosaurian clade Pterosauria was the first group of vertebrates to acquire active flight. Within the group, the derived Pterydactyloidea represent the greatest taxonomic and ecological diversity of pterosaurs from the Late Jurassic onwards. Pterodactyloids first appear in the fiossil record in the early Late Jurassic, but their relationships and diversity in the Late Jurassic indicate an earlier origin, probably in the Middle or even the late Early Jurassic. However, the pterosaur fossil record is strongly biased in favour of Lagerstätten and, especially in the Jurassic, the Northern Hemisphere. Finds from the latest Early and (probably) early Middle Jurassic of the province of Chubut, Argentina, thus have a great potential to improve our understanding of Jurassic pterosaur evolution and the origin of the Pterodactyloidea. As the so far only described taxon from the Toarcian-Bajocian Cañadón Asfalto Formation in Chubut is a close relative of the Monofenestrata, the group that includes the Pterodactyloidea, and further remains also show characters of that clade, it seems probable that the pterosaur fauna from this unit can provide important new insights into the origin of pterodactyloids. The aim of the current project is thus a study of the pterosaur fauna from the Cañadón Asfalto Formation and its correlates in the Argentinean provicne of Chubut. We will establish the taxonomic diversity of the fauna and the phylogenetic relationships of the taxa identified. Furthermore, we plan to analyse the implications for the ecological framework and the evolution of the typical Bauplan of pterodactyloids.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Argentina
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Diego Pol