#Forni Dolostone Formation

[saritapaleo]

Archovember 2024 Day 4 - Preondactylus buffarinii

Preondactylus buffarinii was a tiny pterosaur native to Late Triassic Italy. The holotype had a wingspan of 45 cm (1.48 ft), though a second referred specimen had an estimated wingspan of 1.5 m (4.9 ft), which would mean the holotype is likely a juvenile. However, it is debated that the second specimen may not be the same species. Preondactylus had single-pointed teeth, and likely preyed on fish, arthropods, or both. It is known for its short, “primitive” wings, though it was still considered a capable flier. Some consider Preondactylus to be the most basal flying pterosaur, and it may be the oldest known.

The first fossil specimen of Preondactylus to be discovered had a bit of a tragic history, being accidentally broken into pieces while being extracted from a thin slab of limestone. After the stone was finally reassembled, it was cleaned off with water… which washed the bone away. All that was left was the imprint left on the stone, which was then made into a cast. A second (possible) specimen was found… in the fossilized gastric pellet of a predatory fish, which must have eaten the pterosaur and then vomited out the indigestable material. The third specimen consists only of a partial skull.

The Forni Dolostone Formation was a lagoon or shallow marine ecosystem. Preondactylus could have lived alongside fellow early pterosaurs Austriadactylus, Seazzadactylus and Eudimorphodon. Other reptiles included the tanystropheid Langobardisaurus and the drepanosaur Megalancosaurus. Fish like Sargodon, Thoracopterus, and Holophagus swam throughout the lagoon. Arthropods that Preondactylus could have preyed on included the spider Friularachne and a variety of crustaceans like the Glyphea Preondactylus is munching on above.

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[a-dinosaur-a-day]

picking these 10 was very difficult there are too many triassic weirdos and I'm not even touching the sea right now