| Herbstosaurus | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Digital cast of the holotype specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Clade: | †Lophocratia |
| Clade: | †Dsungaripteroidea |
| Genus: | †Herbstosaurus Casamiquela, 1975 |
| Species: | †H. pigmaeus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Herbstosaurus pigmaeus Casamiquela, 1975 | |
Herbstosaurus (meaning "Herbst lizard") is an extinctgenus ofpterosaurs that lived during the lateJurassicperiod in what is now Argentina. The genus contains asingle species,H. pigmaeus, known from a partial skeleton. The specimen was initially identified as belonging to a small theropod dinosaur, but was later recognized as belonging to a pterosaur.
In 1969, Argentinepaleobotanist Rafael Herbst dug up a piece of sandstoneNeuquén Province atPicun Leufú, containing a number of disarticulated bones of a small reptile. At the time it was assumed the rock dated to theMiddle Jurassic (Callovian), about 163 million years ago.[1]
In 1975,paleontologistRodolfo Magín Casamiquela named the find as a new genus and species,Herbstosaurus pigmaeus. The genus name honours Herbst and connects his name to Greeksauros, "lizard", a usual element in the name ofdinosaurs. Thespecific name is derived from Greekpygmaios, "dwarf", as it was thought the form represented a smallCompsognathus-likecoelurosauriantheropod belonging to theCoeluridae and one of the smallest dinosaurs then known.[1]
Theholotype is CTES-PZ-1711, consisting of a sacrum, pelvic elements, and both femora. The dispersed bones are compressed, crushed by the weight of the layers above. Casamiquela had already indicated that the new species was very distinct because of an atypically longilium and shortischium. In 1978, while reviewing the relations ofCompsognathus,John Ostrom concluded that these qualities were best explained ifHerbstosaurus was not a dinosaur but a pterosaur, for which such proportions are typical. The new identification allowed some fragmentary pterosaur material found in the same layers to be referred toHerbstosaurus, including a wing bone.[1]
Thephylogenetic position ofHerbstosaurus has proven difficult to determine. In 1981,Peter Galton stated it was a member of thePterodactyloidea. In his 1988 general textbook on vertebrate paleontology,Robert Carroll narrowed that down to thePterodactylidae. However, in 1991,Peter Wellnhofer suggested it was not a pterodactyloid but a more basal pterosaur, because of the form of the pelvis. In 1996,David Unwin concludedHerbstosaurus was a basal member of theDsungaripteroidea. This was again doubted byLaura Codorniú andZulma Gasparini in 2007.
In 2025, Ezcurra et al. reanalysed theHerbstosaurus holotype. While the specimen is fragmentary, they were able to score it in aphylogenetic dataset to test its relationships and affinities with other pterosaurs. Based on the anatomy of its femur, they recoveredHerbstosaurus as a member of the Dsungaripteroidea, deeply nested within Pterodactyloidea. Their results are displayed in thecladogram below:[1]
