Muzquizopteryx

Muz-kwee-op-teh-riks.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Muzquizopteryx (M�zquiz wing).

Phonetic

Muz-kwee-op-teh-riks.

Named By

Frey, Buchy, Stinnesbeck, Gonz�lez & di Stefano. - 2006.

Classification

Chordata, Reptilia, Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea, Pteranodontia, Nyctosauridae.

Diet

Presumed piscivore.

Species

M. coahuilensis

Size

2 meter wingspan.

Known locations

Mexico, Coahuila.

Time Period

Coniacian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Almost complete skeleton although only the snout and lower jaw are missing, with only the upper cranium preserved. The holotype also has soft tissue impressions.

In Depth

       Muzquizopteryx is placed in the same pterosaur family as Nyctosaurus although it lacks the formers highly elaborate head crest. With a two meter wingspan, Muzquizopteryx is small for a nyctosaurid.

Further Reading

– A brick in a wall: the first nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Conacian of NE Mexico and its impact on the pterosaurian wing anatomy. – E. Frey, M. C. Buchy, W. Stinnesbeck, A. H. Gonz�lez-Gonz�lez & A. Di Stefano – 2004. – Muzquizopteryx coahuilensis n. g., n. sp., a nyctosaurid pterosaur with soft tissue preservation from the Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) of northeast Mexico (Coahuila). – Oryctos 6:19-39. – E. Frey, M.-C. Buchy, W. Stinnesbeck, A. Gonz�lez Gonz�lez & A. Stefano – 2006. – A new specimen of nyctosaurid pterosaur, cf. Muzquizopteryx sp. from the Late Cretaceous of northeast Mexico. – Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geol�gicas 29(1): 131–139. – Eberhard Frey, Ross A. Elgin, Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, Jos� Manuel Padilla-Guti�rrez, Christina Ifrim, Samuel Giersch & Arturo H. Gonz�lez-Gonz�lez – 2012.

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