Peteinosaurus
Sign in to savePeteinosaurus ( ; meaning "winged lizard") was a prehistoric genus of pterosaur. It lived in the late Triassic period in the late Norian age (about 218-215 million years ago), and at a wingspan of around , was one of the smallest and earliest pterosaurs, although other estimates suggest a wingspan of up to .
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4 sectionsContents
- Discovery
- Classification
- See also
- References
Peteinosaurus ( ; meaning "winged lizard") was a prehistoric genus of pterosaur. It lived in the late Triassic period in the late Norian age (about 218-215 million years ago), and at a wingspan of around , was one of the smallest and earliest pterosaurs, although other estimates suggest a wingspan of up to .
==Discovery== thumb|left|Fossil in Museo civico di scienze naturali di Bergamo Three fossils have been found near Cene, Italy. The first fossil, the holotype MCSNB 2886, is fragmentary and disarticulated. The second, the articulated paratype MCSNB 3359, lacks any diagnostic features of Peteinosaurus and thus might be a different species. This paratype has a long tail (20 cm) made more stiff by long extensions of the vertebrae; this feature is common among pterosaurs of the Triassic. The third example is MCSNB 3496, another fragmentary skeleton. All specimens are those of subadults and of none has the skull been preserved.