Guidraco
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Guidraco Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 120 Ma |
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| Holotype skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Pterosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pterodactyloidea |
| Family: | †Boreopteridae |
| Genus: |
†Guidraco Wang et al., 2012 |
| Type species | |
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†Guidraco venator Wang et al.,2012 |
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Guidraco (Chin. gui (鬼) "malicious ghost" + Lat. draco "dragon") is an extinct genus of toothed pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, northeast China.
Guidraco is known only from the holotype IVPP V17083, an articulated partial skeleton consisting of a nearly complete skull, lower jaws and a series of four, second to fifth, cervical vertebrae. It was collected at Sihedang near Lingyuan City in the Liaoning Province from the Jiufotang Formation, dating to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous, about 120 million years ago.
Guidraco was first described and named by Wang Xiaolin, Alexander W.A. Kellner, Jiang Shunxing and Cheng Xin in 2012 and the type species is Guidraco venator. The generic name is derived from Chinese gui (鬼), "malicious ghost", and from Latin draco, "dragon". The specific name means "hunter" in Latin.
The holotype skull of Guidraco has a length of thirty-eight centimetres. It is very elongated with a hollow profile but not very pointed as the upper edge and the line of the jaw run nearly parallel over most of their length. The ensuing relative robustness of the snout is reinforced by a short main skull opening, a fenestra nasoantorbitalis with just a quarter of skull length, and a lower jaw equalling the rostrum in depth. The snout lacks a crest. Above the eye sockets however, the line of the top of the snout curves steeply upwards, resulting in a very large crest on the frontals, as high as the posterior part of the skull is deep, ending in a rounded top. Due to the angling of the skull roof the crest slightly points forwards and its base extends to the back of the roof; however, the parietal is not part of it. In front of the crest large impressions of soft tissue are visible but these are plant remains. Further diagnostic features of the skull include an infratemporal fenestra with a narrow lower end, and a jugal of which the front branch extends no further than the front edge of the fenestra nasoantorbitalis.
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