Volgadraco
Genus of ornithocheiroid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous
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Volgadraco ("Volga River dragon") is a genus of pteranodontian pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of European Russia.
| Volgadraco Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | †Pteranodontoidea |
| Clade: | †Pteranodontia |
| Genus: | †Volgadraco Averianov et al., 2008 |
| Type species | |
| †Volgadraco bogolubovi Averianov et al., 2008 | |
Discovery and naming
Volgadraco is known from lower beak (holotype SGU, no. 46/104a) and postcranial fragments from the early Campanian-age Rybushka Formation of Saratov, Russia. The size of this animal, and the development of blood supply in the lower jaw are intermediate between older Santonian or Turonian azhdarchids like Azhdarcho and Bakonydraco and later Maastrichtian azhdarchids like Quetzalcoatlus. Volgadraco was described in 2008 by Averianov, Arkhangelsky, and Pervushov. The type species is V. bogolubovi, the specific name honouring Russian paleontologist Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolubov.[1]
Classification
Averianov and colleagues initially assigned Volgadraco to the family Azhdarchidae, and considered the earlier named genus Bogolubovia to be a nomen dubium that is potentially identical to Volgadraco.[1] In contrast, Longrich and colleagues in 2018 had recovered it within the family Nyctosauridae, the cladogram of which can be seen below:[2]
In 2020, Averianov and Arkhangelsky reconsidered both Bogolubovia and Volgadraco as members of the family Pteranodontidae.[3] In 2022, Averianov and Kurin considered both Volgadraco and Bogolubovia as valid pteranodontids based on a new specimen of Bogolubovia.[4] In the same year, however, Volgadraco was considered to be a pteranodontian both outside the Nyctosauridae and Pteranodontidae based on phylogenetic analysis, the cladogram of which can be seen below:[5]
| Pteranodontia |
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