| Cardiocorax | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hind Flipper | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Family: | †Elasmosauridae |
| Genus: | †Cardiocorax Araújoet al.,2015 |
| Type species | |
| †Cardiocorax mukulu Araújoet al., 2015 | |
Cardiocorax is anextinctgenus ofelasmosaurid known from theLate Cretaceous (earlyMaastrichtian stage)Mocuio Formation ofNamibe Province, southernAngola. It contains asingle species,Cardiocorax mukulu.[1]
Cardiocorax is known from theholotype MGUAN PA103 which consists of a complete pectoral and pelvic girdle, fiveneck and oneback vertebrae, a partial forelimb including thehumerus,radius bone,ulna and isolatedphalanges, and several dorsal ribs. A second specimen was also referred to the species, MGAUN PA270, a more complete articulated pelvic girdle and a single hind limb. Both specimens are housed at the Museu de Geologia da Universidade Agostinho Neto inLuanda. The specimens were discovered at Bench 19 locality, about seven meters from each other, inBentiaba of theNamibe Province. They were collected from theMocuio Formation of theSāo Nicolau Group of Namibe Basin, dating to the earlyMaastrichtian stage of theLate Cretaceous, 71.40–71.64million years ago.[1] In 2017Octávio Mateus found a complete skull and partial postcrania also attributed toCardiocorax.[2]
Cardiocorax was first named by Ricardo Araújo, Michael J. Polcyn, Anne S. Schulp,Octávio Mateus,Louis L. Jacobs, A. Olímpio Gonçalves and M.-L. Morais in2015 and thetype species isCardiocorax mukulu. Thegeneric name is derived fromLatinisedGreekKardia, meaning "heart", pluscorax, meaning "raven/crow" which is also the source of the name "coracoid", in reference to the heart-shapedfenestra between the coracoids which is unique to this genus. Thespecific name comes from the wordmukulu inAngolan Bantu dialects, which means "ancestor".[1]
Cardiocorax is a relatively distinctiveelasmosaurid, possessing four unique traits, i.e.autapomorphies. Notably, it shows a reduced dorsal blade of thescapula, a feature unique among elasmosaurids, butconvergent with the relatedcryptoclidid plesiosaurs. This trait indicates a longitudinal protraction-retraction limb cycle rowing style with simple pitch rotation at the glenohumeral articulation - a style unique toCardiocorax. Araújoet al. (2015) tested the phylogenetic position of the genus using a modified version of Ketchum & Benson (2010) data-set, as well as a second data-set from Vincentet al. (2011) which was found to be consistent with the former. Thecladogram below follows their results.[1]
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