| Unwindia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | †Ornithocheiromorpha |
| Genus: | †Unwindia Martill, 2011 |
| Species: | †U. trigonus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Unwindia trigonus Martill, 2011 | |
Unwindia is agenus ofpterodactyloidpterosaur from theEarly Cretaceous period (Albian stage) of what is now modern-dayBrazil.[1][2]
The GermanState Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe obtained a pterosaur fossil from an illegal commercial digger who had found it somewhere nearSantana do Cariri in theAraripe Basin. The deposits it was recovered from likely belong to theSantana Formation of northeasternBrazil, which was dated by Martill to the latestAlbian stage of theCretaceous period. The specimen is catalogued asSMNK PAL 6597, and represents a partialskull consisting only the fusedpremaxillae andmaxillae, some teeth and parts of the palate. The frontmost centimeter of the snout tip is missing. Due to the fragility of the specimen, the right side has undergone more preparation.[1]
In2011, the specimen was named anddescribed as thetype speciesUnwindia trigonus by David Martill. The generic name honours the British pterosaur expert David Unwin. Thespecific name is derived from the Greektrigonos, "triangular", in reference to the triangular shape of the snout in cross-section.[1]
The preserved length of the snout fragment ofUnwindia is 221 mm (8.7 in). Martill estimated that the distance between the large opening in the skull side, thefenestra nasoantorbitalis, and the snout point had been 192 mm (7.6 in).[1] In 2013,Mark Witton estimated the total skull length at a minimum of 300 mm (12 in), which would indicate a wingspan of over 3 m (9.8 ft).[3]
Martill indicated two distinguishing traits. The first of these is anautapomorphy, or a unique specialization: there are seven pairs of teeth present, all of them placed in front of thenasoantorbital fenestra. The second trait setsUnwindia apart from all other pterosaurs known from the Santana Formation: the teeth arehomodont, having the same shape. The other species have more robust teeth in the front of the jaws. Overall, the skull is elongated and flat. The teeth are long, straight, up to 9 mm (0.35 in) long, conical, and slightly transversely flattened.[1]
Martill concluded thatUnwindia was abasalctenochasmatoid, though without aphylogenetic analysis.[1] Witton in 2013 suggested that it could belong to theLonchodectidae. This would makeUnwindia the largest known member of the Lonchodectidae, as well as the first species of that group to be identified from the Southern Hemisphere.[3] In 2020 however, Russian paleontologist Alexander Averianov suggested thatUnwindia did not belong to the Lonchodectidae.[4]
