Tupandactylus imperator

Tupandactylus from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil is characterized by its very large head crest made partly of bone and partly of soft tissue (keratin). It was originally described as a species of Tapejara.

Name

Tupandactylus imperator

Authority

(Campos & Kellner, 1997)

Meaning of generic name

Tupan (name of the Tupi thunder God) finger

["dactylus"="finger" stands for "pterodactylus"="wing finger" which is too long for an ending - the beginning of the word seems laden with idolatry!]

Meaning of specific name

commander-in-chief or emperor (depending on what period of Latin)

Size

Skull length: 800 mm, Wingspan: ? 2.5 m

Remains

Nearly complete skull.

Age and Distribution

Crato Member, Santana Formation (Early Cretaceous, Aptian-Albian) Ceará, Brazil.

Classification

Pterosauria Pterodactyloidea Azhdarchoidea Tapejaridae

Further Reading

Campos, D. A. & Kellner, A. W. A. 1997, Short note on the first occurrence of Tapejaridae in the Crato Member (Aptian), Santana Formation, Araripe Basin, Northeast Brazil. An. Acad. Brasil. Ciênc., 69(1): 83-87.

Kellner, A.W.A. & Campos, D.A. 2007, Short note on the ingroup relationships of the Tapejaridae (Pterosauria, Pterodactyloidea. Boletim do Museu Nacional 75: 1–14.

Synonyms

Tapejara imperator Campos & Kellner, 1997; Ingridia imperator (Campos & Kellner, 1997) Unwin & Martill, 2007

Image by Nobu Tamura (click to enlarge)

Tupandactylus imperator: