| Navajodactylus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location of the discovery ofNavajodactylus (bottom; USA) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Genus: | †Navajodactylus Sullivan & Fowler,2011 |
| Type species | |
| †Navajodactylus boerei Sullivan & Fowler, 2011 | |
Navajodactylus (meaning "Navajo finger") is anextinctgenus ofpterodactyloidpterosaur fromLate Cretaceous (lateCampanian stage) deposits of theSan Juan Basin inNew Mexico, United States.
The holotype specimen ofNavajodactylus was discovered and collected byoceanographer Arjan C. Boeré from theKirtland Formation in 2002.Navajodactylus was first named by Robert M. Sullivan and Denver W. Fowler in2011 and thetype species isNavajodactylus boerei. Thegeneric name honors theNavajo Nation, combining their name with a Greek δάκτυλος,daktylos, "finger". Thespecific name honors Arjan C. Boeré.[1]
Navajodactylus is based on theholotypeSMP VP-1445, from the Hunter Wash Member of theKirtland Formation, San Juan Basin, dating to the upper Campanian, about 75 million years old. It consists of three pieces of the first phalanx of the wing finger. Theparatype is SMP VP-1853, an ulna fragment. Two first phalanges,TMP 72.1.1 and TMP 82.19.295, both from theDinosaur Park Formation of the Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, were referred to this taxon,[1] but in 2019, Honeet al. recognized these as referable to their new azhdarchidCryodrakon.[2]
Navajodactylus was a medium-sized pterosaur, with an estimatedwingspan of 3.5 meters (11.5 ft). Itsautapomorphies largely exist in the unique form of the process on the first wing phalanx for the extensor tendon.[1]
Navajodactylus was tentatively assigned to the familyAzhdarchidae because of its geological age, however, it does not show anysynapomorphies of the group.[1] Indeed, it may not actually be an azhdarchid, as it lacks pneumacy in its forelimb elements, which is opposed to the extensive pneumacy seen in azhdarchids.[3]
