Pterosaur cervical vertebra from Cenomanian (Cretaceous) of Russia
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Ben Creisler
Feb 27, 2026, 11:51:47 AM (11 days ago) Feb 27
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Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Alexander O. Averianov & Denis I. Gubarev (2026)
A pterosaur cervical vertebra from the Cenomanian of Russia: first diagnostic postcranial material for Targaryendraconia
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2026.2619532
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2026.2619532
A middle cervical vertebra from the upper Cenomanian Melovatka Formation at the Aleksandrovka 2 site in Saratov, Russia, can be distinguished from anhanguerid middle cervical vertebrae by its neural arch wider than centrum, convex dorsal margin of the cotyle, small lateral pneumatic foramen, lack of pneumatic foramina dorsal to the neural canal and reduced epipophyses. These characters are similar to those of an isolated middle cervical vertebra from the Albian Toolebuc Formation in Australia, which may belong to a targaryendraconid. The cervical vertebra from the Aleksandrovka 2 site is likely to belong to the Targaryendraconia clade, specifically the species Saratovia glickmani, which was described from a contemporaneous nearby locality, Lysaya Gora, also in Saratov. Cervical vertebrae from the Melovatka and Toolebuc formations are the first diagnostic postcranial materials for the Targaryendraconia clade.
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A pterosaur cervical vertebra from the Cenomanian of Russia: first diagnostic postcranial material for Targaryendraconia
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2026.2619532
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2026.2619532
A middle cervical vertebra from the upper Cenomanian Melovatka Formation at the Aleksandrovka 2 site in Saratov, Russia, can be distinguished from anhanguerid middle cervical vertebrae by its neural arch wider than centrum, convex dorsal margin of the cotyle, small lateral pneumatic foramen, lack of pneumatic foramina dorsal to the neural canal and reduced epipophyses. These characters are similar to those of an isolated middle cervical vertebra from the Albian Toolebuc Formation in Australia, which may belong to a targaryendraconid. The cervical vertebra from the Aleksandrovka 2 site is likely to belong to the Targaryendraconia clade, specifically the species Saratovia glickmani, which was described from a contemporaneous nearby locality, Lysaya Gora, also in Saratov. Cervical vertebrae from the Melovatka and Toolebuc formations are the first diagnostic postcranial materials for the Targaryendraconia clade.
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