Article: Pterosaur remains from the Kayenta Formation (?Early Jurassic) of Arizona
Publication: Palaeontology
Volume:
27
Part:
2
Publication Date:
May
1984
Page(s):
407
–
413
Author(s):
Kevin Padian
Abstract
Two records of pterosaurs, the earliest from the Western Hemisphere, are reported from the Kayenta Formation (?Early Jurassic) of north-eastern Arizona. The first specimen represents a new genus and species, Rhamphinion jenkinsi. It consists of three pieces of a skull, including an occipital region, most of a left jugal, and two teeth associated with a possible fragment of the dentary; it is difficult to diagnose because it is so fragmentary and because the occipital region of early pterosaurs is not well known, but may be recognized by the position and configuration of the orbital and antorbital borders of the jugal. The second specimen is the left-wing (fourth) metacarpal of a rhamphorhynchoid; it is well-preserved but cannot be classified more precisely.