Genus
Valid Extinct

Leptostomia

Smith et al. 2020

Leptostomia is an extinct genus of pterosaur that lived during the Cenomanian and possibly Albian stages of the ?Early-Late Cretaceous period in what is now Morocco, North Africa. Leptostomia is known from only two isolated rostrum (beak) fragments. In 2021, paleontologist Roy E. Smith and colleagues named the type and only known species, Leptostomia begaaensis, based on these fossils. Leptostomia is a small pterosaur, with the complete skull length estimated between 6 and 20 centimeters, making it much smaller than many contemporary pterosaurs. The beak of Leptostomia is remarkably long, narrow, and compressed from the top down, a morphology unseen in any other known pterosaur.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Leptostomia
click to enlarge
Holotype rostrum FSAC-KK 5075 (A–E) and paratype mandibular symphysis FSAC-KK 5076 (F–H) of Leptostomia begaaensis. A in dorsal view; B, G in occlusal view; C, H in right lateral view; D in anterior view; E in posterior view and F in ventral view. Scale bars A–D, F–H represent 5 mm; D-E 1 mm © R. E. Smith, N. Ibrahim, N. Longrich, D. M. Unwin, M. L. Jacobs, C. J. Williams, S. Zouhri & D. M. Martill · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Pterosauria Order
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
Azhdarchoidea Superfamily
Leptostomia Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇲🇦 Morocco
1
Geological formations
Ifezouane
1
Temporal distribution
Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Leptostomia begaaensis 101 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
R. E. Smith, D. M. Martill, and A. Kao, S. Zouhri, N. Longrich. 2020. A long-billed, possible probe-feeding pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: ?Azhdarchoidea) from the mid-Cretaceous of Morocco, North Africa. Cretaceous Research DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
R. E. Smith, D. M. Martill, and A. Kao, S. Zouhri, N. Longrich. 2020. A long-billed, possible probe-feeding pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: ?Azhdarchoidea) from the mid-Cretaceous of Morocco, North Africa. Cretaceous Research DOI ↗