Genus
Valid Extinct

Mimodactylus

Kellner et al. 2019

Mimodactylus is a genus of istiodactyliform pterosaur that lived in what is now Lebanon during the Late Cretaceous, 95 million years ago. The only known specimen was discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of Hjoula, belonging to the Sannine Formation. The owner of the quarry allowed the specimen to be prepared and scientifically described by an international team of researchers. When it was eventually sold, the buyer donated it to the MIM Museum in Beirut. In 2019, the researchers named the new genus and species Mimodactylus libanensis; the generic name refers to the MIM Museum, combined with the Greek word daktylos for "digit", and the specific name refers to Lebanon. The well-preserved holotype specimen is the first complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent, and the third pterosaur fossil known from Lebanon.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Ptérosaures
Piscivore Volant Marine
Mimodactylus
click to enlarge
Mimodactylus libanensis gen. et sp. nov. (a) Photo and drawing of the complete specimen. (b) Close up of scapula and coracoid. (c) Detail of the wrist, showing the relation of the pteroid and the carpus. (d) Detail of the humerus. Scale-bars, a: 50 mm; b-d: 10 mm. Abbreviations. car: carpus; cdv: caudal vertebrae; cor: coracoid; cra: cranium; cs: cristospine; cv: cervical vertebrae; d: dentary; dcar: distal carpals; dpc: deltopectoral crest; dri: dorsal ribs; dv: dorsal vertebrae; fe: femur; hu: humerus; man: mandible; mcI-III: first to third metacarpals; mcIV: wing metacarpal; mtar: metatarsals; pcar: proximal carpals; ph1d4: first wing phalanx; ph2d4: second wing phalanx; ph3d4: third wing phalanx; ph4d4: fourth wing phalanx; ppu: prepubis; ptd: pteroid; ra: radius; sca: scapula; sri: sacral ribs; stp: sternal plate; sym: mandibular symphysis; tar: tarsus; te: teeth; ti: tibia; ul: ulna; the abbreviations ‘l’ and ‘r’ represents respectively left and right. © Special thanks to Hugo Salais-López (Metazoa Studio) for the outlines used in the figures. Published by Alexander W. A. Kellner, Michael W. Caldwell, Borja Holgado, Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia, Roy Nohra, Juliana M. Sayão & Philip J. Currie. · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Pterosauria Order
Pterodactyloidea Suborder
Pteranodontia Unranked clade
Ornithocheiroidea Superfamily
Lanceodontia Unranked clade
Istiodactyliformes Unranked clade
Mimodactylidae Unranked clade
Mimodactylus Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇱🇧 Lebanon
1
Geological formations
Sannine Limestone
1
Temporal distribution
Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Mimodactylus libanensis 101 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
A. W. A. Kellner, M. W. Caldwell, and B. Holgado, F. M. Dalla Vecchia, R. Nohra, J. M. Sayão, P. J. Currie. 2019. First complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent: insight into pterodactyloid diversity. Scientific Reports 9:17875:1-9 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
A. W. A. Kellner, M. W. Caldwell, and B. Holgado, F. M. Dalla Vecchia, R. Nohra, J. M. Sayão, P. J. Currie. 2019. First complete pterosaur from the Afro-Arabian continent: insight into pterodactyloid diversity. Scientific Reports 9:17875:1-9 DOI ↗