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Caelestiventus hanseni gen. et sp. nov. extends the desert-dwelling pterosaur record back 65 million years

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 2, pages 1386–1392 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Pterosaurs are the oldest known powered flying vertebrates. Originating in the Late Triassic, they thrived to the end of the Cretaceous. Triassic pterosaurs are extraordinarily rare and all but one specimen come from marine deposits in the Alps. A new comparatively large (wing span >150 cm) pterosaur, Caelestiventus hanseni gen. et sp. nov., from Upper Triassic desert deposits of western North America preserves delicate structural and pneumatic details not previously known in early pterosaurs, and allows a reinterpretation of crushed Triassic specimens. It shows that the earliest pterosaurs were geographically widely distributed and ecologically diverse, even living in harsh desert environments. It is the only record of desert-dwelling non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs and predates all known desert pterosaurs by more than 65 Myr. A phylogenetic analysis shows it is closely allied with Dimorphodon macronyx from the Early Jurassic of Britain.

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Fig. 1: Locality map.
Fig. 2: Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the Saints & Sinners Quarry.
Fig. 3: C. hanseni gen. et sp. nov., a Triassic dimorphodontid from the Nugget Sandstone near Vernal, Utah.
Fig. 4: Reconstructions of C. hanseni and D. macronyx.
Fig. 5: Phylogenetic relationships of C. hanseni gen. et sp. nov.

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Acknowledgements

R. L. Hansen (US BLM’s Vernal Field Office) facilitated access under BLM permit UT08-025E. Funding and other support was provided by the BYU Geological Sciences Department and Museum of Paleontology, Dinosaur National Monument (D.J.C.) and University of Nebraska at Omaha (G.F.E.). N. Fraser and J. Clark provided information on the procolophonid and ‘Dimorphodon’ weintraubi, respectively. Segmentation was performed by A. J. Matthews and M. Colbert. M. Gonzales-Whittaker skilfully assisted with illustrations. Manual preparation was performed by S. Meek and C. Thelin. Thanks to J. Wilson for recommendations that improved an early version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museum of Paleontology, Department of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

    Brooks B. Britt & Rodney D. Scheetz

  2. Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Sabadell, Spain

    Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia

  3. Dinosaur National Monument, National Park Service, Jensen, UT, USA

    Daniel J. Chure

  4. Department of Geography and Geology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA

    George F. Engelmann

  5. Department of Biology and Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA

    Michael F. Whiting

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Contributions

B.B.B., F.M.D.V., D.J.C. and G.F.E. designed the research project. B.B.B., F.M.D.V., D.J.C., G.F.E., R.D.S. and M.F.W. wrote the manuscript. B.B.B., D.J.C., G.F.E. and R.D.S. conducted the field work. F.M.D.V. coded the characters. F.M.D.V. and M.F.W. performed the phylogenetic analysis.

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Correspondence to Brooks B. Britt.

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Supplementary Information 2

Pterosaur matrix for PAUP with all taxa included

Supplementary Information 3

Pterosaur data matrix for TNT converted from the PAUP matrix

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Britt, B.B., Dalla Vecchia, F.M., Chure, D.J. et al. Caelestiventus hanseni gen. et sp. nov. extends the desert-dwelling pterosaur record back 65 million years. Nat Ecol Evol 2, 1386–1392 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0627-y

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