Eurazhdarcho

Eurazhdarcho Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 69 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Preserved elements re-assembled as found in partial articulation
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Pterosauria
Suborder:	†Pterodactyloidea
Family:	†Azhdarchidae
Genus:	†Eurazhdarcho Vremir et al., 2013
Species:	†E. langendorfensis
Binomial name
†Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis Vremir et al., 2013

Eurazhdarcho is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Romania, about 69 million years ago. Starting in 2009, pterosaur fossil remains were unearthed in a layer of the Sebeș Formation in Lancrăm, southwestern Transylvania by paleontologist Mátyás Vremir. In 2013, he, along with paleontologists Alexander Kellner, Darren Naish, and Gareth Dyke would name the new genus and type species Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis. Its generic name is a combination of Europe and the genus Azhdarcho, while its specific name is in reference to its origin from Langendorf (the name of Lancrăm in the language of the German ethnic minority in Romania). The holotype specimen of Eurazhdarcho consists of a partial skeleton that includes cervical (neck) vertebrae, metacarpal, and phalanx fragments. The related and much larger azhdarchid Hatzegopteryx has also been found in the same location, indicating a possibility that Eurazhdarcho may have a juvenile of this pterosaur. However, the describers deemed this unlikely as its fossils seem to represent an adult specimen.

With extrapolations from the comparisons of cervical vertebrae and wingbones of Eurazhdarcho with those of the related azhdarchid Zhejiangopterus from China, Vremir and colleagues would estimate a wingspan not surpassing 3 m (9 ft 10 in). This makes Eurazhdarcho a medium size member of its family, Azhdarchidae. The distinctive traits that the describers set for Eurazhdarcho are all found in its cervical vertebrae. Within Azhdarchidae, the position of Eurazhdarcho has been somewhat disputed, with some studies recovering it within the subfamily Quetzalcoatlinae, while others have found it in a basal (primitive) position within the family. Due to the abundance of terrestrial fauna in the Sebeș Formation, it has been suggested that Eurazhdarcho most likely fed by snatching small terrestrial prey while walking on all fours instead of being a fish-eater on the coast.