First pterosaur bone from the Lower Cretaceous of Siberia, Russia

A distal fragment of the wing metacarpal from the Lower Cretaceous Ilek Formation at the Novochernorechensk locality in Krasnoyarsk Territory, West Siberia, Russia, is nearly identical to the wing metacarpal of the dsungaripterid pterosaur Lonchognathosaurus acutirostris from the Lower Cretaceous of North-West China. It is identified here as cf. Lonchognathosaurus sp. Both specimens share a ridge on the dorsal condyle not found in other pterodactyloids. In the Siberian wing metacarpal there is a faint groove flanked by ridges on the dorsal surface of the shaft apparently for the reduced metacarpal III. This structure corresponds to the rugosity present in L. acutirostris and Dsungaripterus weii. The Siberian wing metacarpal represents the first pterosaur postcranial bone for the Lower Cretaceous Ilek Formation of West Siberia and the first record of the Dsungaripteridae in Russia. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A fragment of wing metacarpal found in West Siberia, Russia, is very similar to the wing metacarpal of the dsungaripterid pterosaur found in Northwest China. This discovery represents the first pterosaur postcranial bone found in the Lower Cretaceous Ilek Formation of West Siberia and the first record of the Dsungaripteridae in Russia.