Preondactylus

Preondactylus is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs from the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian or late Norian, about 217-214 million years ago) that inhabited what is now Italy. It contains a single known species, Preondactylus buffarinii, which was discovered by Nando Buffarini in 1982 at the Forni Dolostone near Udine in the Preone valley of the Italian Alps.

==Discovery== thumb|left|Fossil wing bones When Buffarini first discovered Preondactylus, the thin slab of bituminous, dolomitic limestone containing the fossil was accidentally broken into pieces while being extracted. After reassembly the rock was cleaned with water by him and his wife and the marl and in it the bone was washed away and lost. All that was left was a negative imprint on the stone, of which a silicone rubber cast was made to allow for subsequent study of the otherwise lost remains. Most of the skeleton is known, but the posterior portions of the skull have not been preserved. This first specimen is the holotype: MFSN-1770. thumb|left|Cast of a Preondactylus buffarinii