Arcticodactylus cromptonellus
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Arcticodactylus Temporal range: Late Triassic, 208–201 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Family: | †Eudimorphodontidae |
| Genus: |
†Arcticodactylus Kellner, 2015 |
| Species: | †A. cromptonellus |
| Binomial name | |
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Arcticodactylus cromptonellus (Jenkins et al., 2001) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Eudimorphodon cromptonellus Jenkins et al., 2001 |
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Eudimorphodon cromptonellus Jenkins et al., 2001
Arcticodactylus is a genus of basal pterosaur living during the Late Triassic in the area of present Greenland. Its only species was previously attributed to Eudimorphodon, and its closest relatives may have been Eudimorphodon or Austriadraco.
In 1989, William Amaral on the McKnight Bjerg in the east of Greenland discovered a rich fossil site. It was excavated in 1991 and 1992. Part of the material was a small skeleton of a pterosaur. In 2001, Farish Jenkins, Neil Shubin, Stephen Gatesy and Kevin Padian named and described it as a new species of Eudimorphodon: Eudimorphodon cromptonellus. The specific name honours Professor Alfred Walter Crompton. The suffix ~ellus, in Latin indicating a diminutive, alluded to the small size of the specimen.
The holotype, MGUH VP 3393, was found in the Carlsberg Fjord Beds of the Ørsted Dal Member of the Fleming Fjord Formation dating from the Norian – Rhaetian. It consists of a partial skeleton with skull. It is largely disarticulated.
The reference to Eudimorphodon had been essentially based on the similarity in tooth form, especially the distinctive multi-cuspid build with three, four or five points on the crown. In 2003, Alexander Kellner pointed out that other basal pterosaurs also possess such teeth. In 2014, Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia noted that E. cromptonellus shared not a single trait with Eudimorphodon ranzii not present in other pterosaurs but lacked the distinguishing fang-like teeth, pterygoid teeth and striated tooth enamel. In 2015, Kellner named a separate genus Arcticodactylus. The generic name is derived from the Arctic, and Greek δάκτυλος, daktylos, "finger", a usual suffix in pterosaur names since Pterodactylus. The Life Science Identifier is 72AE012A-018A-4B4B-950F-3CCB4C1D2471. The type species is Eudimorphodon cromptonellus, the combinatio nova is Arcticodactylus cromptonellus.
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