Propterodactylus frankerlae, Spindler, 2024

Spindler, Frederik, 2024, A pterosaurian connecting link from the Late Jurassic of Germany, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 35) 27 (2), pp. 1-27 : 3-5

Propterodactylus frankerlae gen. nov., sp. nov.

Figures 1-10

zoobank.org/ 7F2B8C07-B736-4830-BA20-53CD548F22E5

Holotype. DMA-JP-2011/006 ( Figures 1 , 2 ) comprises a complete and fully articulated skeleton, exposed in right lateral view, with soft tissue remains in the trunk region and wing actinofibrils (Tischlinger and Frey, 2013, figure 8). Checked under UV, the slab contains very little repair and shows no restored areas.

Etymology. The epithet honours Petra Hahn, née Frankerl (1966 - 2019), the wife of Stephan Hahn, who found the specimen in 2011 during the scientific excavation.

Horizon and locality. Lower levels of the Rygol lime works quarry near Painten, Bavaria, Germany. The outcrop contributes to the “Solnhofen archipelago“, a Jurassic reef platform complex (Viohl, 2015a, b; Wilkin, 2020). The “Paintener Wanne” (depression or basin) is among the largest areas of laminated limestones that preserved allochthoneous biota under hypoxic conditions (Albersdörfer and Häckel, 2015). In the sampled level, fine-layered to laminated, irregularly silicified limestones (Kieselplattenkalke) belong to the uppermost Ulmense Subzone (index ammonite Lithoceras ulmense), representing the end-Kimmeridgian stage (Schweigert, 2007, 2015). Therefore, the

SPINDLER: PTEROSAURIAN CONNECTING LINK specimen described herein is a contemporary of the oldest known Archaeopteryx from a neighbouring basin (Rauhut et al., 2018, figure 1). Information about the faunal content of the Late Jurassic marine and insular environment from Painten is provided by specific studies (Rauhut et al., 2012; Bennett, 2013b; Tischlinger and Frey, 2013; Spindler, 2019; Spindler and Albersdörfer, 2019; Sachs

PALAEO- ELECTRONICA.ORG et al., 2021; Spindler et al., 2021; Augustin et al., 2022, 2023).

Diagnosis. Monofenestratan pterosaur with unique combination of characters: skull moderately elongate, but longer than trunk, maxillary tooth row under nasoantorbital fenestra, nasoantorbital fenestra shorter than the massive rostrum, 11 maxillary tooth positions, nine dentary tooth positions, teeth moderately long and slightly curved conical, wide interdental spaces, cervicals slightly elongated, elongation including the eighth cervical, mid-dorsal diapophyses with offset articulation for rib read, caudal number about 18, mid-caudals moderately elongated and interlocked by needle-like prezygapophyses and hemapophyses, tail very short, distal scapula narrowed to form rounded tip, coracoid with large acrocoracoid process, pteroid slightly elongated, wing metacarpus slightly elongated, small but functional 5th toe with two phalanges.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Specimen DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov. (A) under day- light condition; (B) under UV (365 nm), by courtesy of Helmut Tischlinger. Scale bars equal 5 cm.

FIGURE 2. Interpretative drawing and key for DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov. Soft tissue preservation and areas of uncertain bone tracing are left out.

FIGURE 3. Close-up of skull and neck, DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov. (A) under UV (365 nm), courtesy of Helmut Tischlinger; (B) line drawing interpretation. Note that minor proportional deviations in the key drawing result from zoom and lens effects due to a different master photography.

FIGURE 4. Skull reconstruction of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov., from subadult holotype. The mandible is also shown in dorsal aspect, leaving out the unknown replacement teeth of the left side. For osteological key see Figure 2.

FIGURE 5. Close-up of trunk and hip region, DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov., under UV (365 nm), courtesy of Helmut Tischlinger.

FIGURE 6. Close-up of mid-caudal series, DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov., under UV (365 nm), courtesy of Helmut Tischlinger.

FIGURE 7. Close-up of wrists, DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov., under UV (365 nm), courtesy of Helmut Tischlinger.

FIGURE 8. Close-up of hindlimbs and feet, DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov., under UV (365 nm), courtesy of Helmut Tischlinger.

FIGURE 9. Close-up of pathological wing phalanx, DMA-JP-2011/006, holotype of Propterodacylus frankerlae, gen. nov., sp. nov., under UV (365 nm), courtesy of Helmut Tischlinger.

FIGURE 10. Phylogenetic analyses that included Propterodactylus, formerly known as the “Painten (pro-)pterodactyloid”, restricted to chosen taxa. Note that there is little consensus about most relationships beyond the monophyly of Pterodactyloidea (green, blue, violet), while the position of Propterodactylus is challenged only by the fragmentarily known and barely diagnosed Kryptodrakon (introduced as the oldest pterodactyloid under deviant constraints, see Andres et al., 2014).