New anhanguerian pterosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia

Abstract

<p>The Australian pterosaur assemblage currently consists of specimens recovered only from Cretaceous strata, with most of these referred to the clade Anhangueria. The majority of Australia's pterosaur remains have been discovered in the Eromanga Basin of Queensland, specifically the upper Albian Toolebuc Formation, upper Albian Mackunda Formation, and Cenomanian–lowermost Turonian Winton Formation. In this paper, we describe two new partial pterosaur femora from the Toolebuc and Winton formations. Despite being incomplete, these specimens can be assigned to Anhangueria. Pairwise comparisons demonstrate differences in the deflection of the femoral head. Moreover, a subtle ridge on the posterior surface of the Toolebuc Formation femur is not visible on the specimen from the Winton Formation. The greater trochanter of the Winton Formation femur also preserves a potential bite mark that is tentatively attributed to a crocodylomorph. These new pterosaur fossils supplement the currently limited understanding of pterosaur diversity from Australia, and attest to the cosmopolitan distribution of anhanguerians during the Early to mid-Cretaceous.</p>