#ornithocheiromorphs

Pterosaur Mythunga camara, of Early Cretaceous, Australia!

Mythunga camara was a pterosaur from Early Cretaceous Australia. This enigmatic pterosaur is known only from corresponding parts of the middle upper and lower jaw, however, for a long time it was the most completely known pterosaur in Australia (that spot has now been taken by the also fragmentary Ferrodraco). Unfortunately, Australia seemed to not have very good conditions for fossilizing pterosaurs, and of the around 20 pterosaur fossils known from the continent, all of them are simple teeth and bone fragments. Still, from Mythunga’s teeth and jaw fragments, it can be analyzed as an Anhanguerid, with some paleontologists even putting it in the subfamily Tropeognathinae. It is most closely related to the Late Cretaceous Ferrodraco, and likely behaved similar to other Anhanguerids, feeding on fish and squids, and soaring great distances over the ocean.

Mythunga camara was found in the Toolebuc Formation of Queensland, Australia. Other pterosaurs (fragmentary, of course) found in this formation include the targaryendraconid Aussiedraco, the ornithocheiriform Thapunngaka, and fellow anhangeurid (and far more completely known) Haliskia. Mythunga would have lived alongside dinosaurs as well, including the ankylosaurian Kunbarrasaurus, the iguanodontian Muttaburrasaurus, and the avialan Nanantius. As Mythunga likely spent a great deal of time flying over the ocean, it also may have encountered plesiosaurs such as the pliosaur Kronosaurus and the elasmosaurid Eromangasaurus, icthyosaurs like Platypterygius australis, and sea turtles like Bouliachelys, Cratochelone, and Notochelone.

Pterosaur Barbosania gracilirostris, of Early Cretaceous, Brazil!

Barbosania gracilirostris was a targaryendraconian pterosaur, a part of the Ornithocheiromorph clade but lacking the distinctive crest that other Ornithocheiromorphs had at the ends of their jaws. It had a long, slender snout that bent slightly upwards, and its first four pairs of teeth were extremely long, a likely adaptation for holding on to slippery fish and squids.

Barbosania gracilirostris lived in the Romualdo Formation of Early Cretaceous Brazil. Here, it was overshadowed by several species of its more famous cousin, Anhanguera. But many other pterosaurs lived here as well, including Araripesaurus, Brasileodactylus, Cearadactylus, Maaradactylus, Tropeognathus, Santanadactylus, Unwindia, Tapejara, Thalassodromeus, Tupuxuara, Kariridraco, and Bakiribu. Dinosaurs lived here as well, though they were not nearly as dominant as the pterosaurs, and included the compsognathid Mirischia, the small tyrannosauroid Santanaraptor, and the spinosaurid Irritator. Barbosania would have also lived alongside the small crocodylomorphs Araripesuchus gomesii and Caririsuchus, as well as turtles like Santanachelys, Cearachelys, and Araripemys.